Reinterpretation of Pokemon White

Very nice. I enjoyed reading about the 'Restoration Team,' which makes sense that there should be one with all the damage Pokemon battles can do. I also enjoyed the character development present with Cheren, as he learns it is good to aim to be Champion, but one should at least enjoy the journey.

After our friendly little meet-up with N, it was one more hour of making our way through the fossil mines of Spiral Mountain, and a half-hour of descending the mountain from where we emerge, which finally lands us in Iccirus City. However, thanks to the transmission I got from my mom, my trip isn't over yet.

I head straight through Iccirus City, parting with Cheren halfway, to the Iccirus City-Route 8 checkpoint, and take the subway from there. I'm taken to Nimbasa City, and, after a short transfer there, to Castelia City. Right outside the Castelia City-Route 4 checkpoint is a bus stop, and it's from there that I ride from the capital, through Nacrene and Striaton City, and finally, to Accumula Town. After arriving in home-sweet-home, it's a short walk down Route 1, and I arrive in the Nuvema Town district, and from there, my house. It's about five o' clock in the evening when I arrive, just as I predicted. Man... it's been roughly a couple months since I left, but it feels a lot longer than that...

I walk up to my front door, but pause. This is my own house, and all, but I've been away for a while, so do I just walk in, or do I knock? Well, from how we concluded our transmission a few hours ago, she's probably expecting me a bit later than now. As awkward as it is, I knock on the door.

A few seconds later, the door opens, and there's mom, with Minccino perched on her shoulder.

“Um... Hi!” I greet.

Mom, who is predictably surprised by the fact that I'm here on the same day as the transmission she sent, exclaims, “Oh! Ria! I wasn't expecting you so soon!”

I shrug, “I didn't wanna lose any sleep, wondering about the surprise.”

“Well, come on in!” I walk inside. It's strange how one's own house smells after you'd been away for a while. We enter the kitchen, which used to have white walls, but now they're painted blue. It looks like mom's been finding multiple projects to keep her busy.

With me still feeling like a stranger in my own house, mom looks me up and down, “My daughter, a Hyper Ranked Pokemon trainer. I still can't believe it, but you do look older.”

“Gee, thanks,” I say sarcastically, not exactly jazzed about being told I look older than I am.

Looking at my waist, mom says, “It looks like you have six Pokemon with you! Do you only have six, or do you have any others in the transfer system?”

“Only six,” I answer.

“Well, can I see them?” mom asks.

“Yeah, sure!” I send out my Pokemon one-by-one, introducing each of them as they appear, “Mom meet Dewott... Rufflet... Gallade... Magmortar... Marowak... and Absol.”

“Cino cino!” Minccino exclaims as he leaps down from mom's shoulder, and rushes up to my Pokemon, presumably to greet them.

“Wow! They all look so strong!” mom marvels, and then adds, “And that little bird is just adorable!” no doubt referring to Rufflet. I don't disagree on the 'strong' part, but I think the Eaglet Pokemon's dangerous-looking talons places him at about a 6.5 on my personal 'adorableness' scale. To each their own, I guess.

“Ruff?” Rufflet looks at mom questioningly. All my other Pokemon, except Marowak, with his unaffected 'whatever' personality, look at mom, probably expecting an explanation from me.

I step toward my Pokemon, gesturing back toward mom, “Um, guys? This is my mother. Be nice to her, alright?”

“Dewo!”

“Flet!”

“Gall.”

“Mag!”

“Sol!”

In response, all my Pokemon greet mom in their own unique ways. Afterward, I recall all of them, and then ask, “Alright, mom. What's this favor-slash-surprise I'd come all this way for?”

Minccino hops back on mom's shoulder, and she says, “It's right here.”

There is a long silence between us. I look around, but don't see anything out of the ordinary.

“I... don't get it,” I finally say.

Minccino hops off mom's shoulder and shouts up to me, “Min min miiiiin!”

“Dude, what's up with you?”

“He's your surprise,” mom says, “Minccino!”

“Um... I still don't get it,” I say, “I'd seen Minccino, like, everyday for the last five years...”

Mom, deciding she had her fill of messing around with me, explains, “Lately, Minccino has been acting a little differently. He's more eager than ever to have battles with one of my friends' Pokemon, in his free time he'd been swinging his tail around, like he were fighting an invisible opponent, instead of dusting the house, and he no longer seems to like helping me clean. I asked if we wanted to battle and train more, and he nodded. When Professor Juniper came by, mentioning your progress, I thought you might be able to help give Minccino the training and battles he wants.”

“So... you want me to train Minccino?”

“That's right.”

“Cino min min!” Minccino looks up at me, pleadingly.

“I'd like to,” I say, “but... I'm only allowed to have six Pokemon with me...”

Since Pokemon are so powerful, the Pokemon League made an irreversible rule a long time ago, stating a trainer is only allowed to travel with six Pokemon at a time, to limit each trainer's power. The technology that sends newly captured Pokemon into the transfer system, provided the trainer has six Pokemon, was one of history's most painstakingly created inventions, meant to enforce this rule, and breaking it is pretty much an instant revocation of a trainer's license. The Professor really hammered this into our heads, quizzing us again and again and again, until we got all the answers right.

“... But isn't there one you can leave behind?” asks mom, “I mean, everyone needs at least one Pokemon to protect them, right? I was wondering if you could trade one of yours with me for Minccino.” She's right, of course. Everyone, once they come of age, are given a Pokemon. Even if Bianca, Cheren, and I failed the trainer's exam, we would have still been given Oshawott, Tepig, and Snivy; we just wouldn't have gotten our licenses, which allows us to use Pokemon Centers' services for free, challenge Gyms, or capture Pokemon.

Even through I totally get where mom is coming from, I'm a little peeved that she thinks I can just casually leave one of my Pokemon with her, “How can you ask...?”

“Min...” Minccino cuts in, sounding kinda sad.

I recall my recent revelation, about how Minccino got me to stand being around Pokemon. I figured I owed him a thanks for that... and what better way to think him than to do what he wants... but that means one of my current six Pokemon will be out of action...

“You don't have to do this,” says mom, “but if you do, I'll take good care of the one you leave behind.”

“Thanks,” I say, “Can I have some time to think about this?”

“Of course!”

I head upstairs to my room. I open the door, and am amazed by the transformation from when I'd last seen it. The walls are painted, the furniture and appliances are either repaired or replaced, and, generally, it's like a war had never been fought in here. I guess I should really give mom's cleaning skills some credit.

“Min...” I notice that Minccino had followed me upstairs.

I let out a slight chuckle, “Had enough cleaning, have you?”

Minccino nods his head, “Cino.”

“Don't worry. I'll give it some thought. It's just that if I have to leave someone behind, it's not gonna be an easy decision.”

Minccino nods again, this time slowly, “Min...”

I send out all of my Pokemon again, turn on the TV, and play one of my Pokeflick DVDs for them to watch.

As the movie is playing, I'm laying on my bed, looking over my notes, though my mind is elsewhere.

Man, here I thought I was making some major progress as a trainer, but I've hit yet another road bump. After all, when it comes to trading or owning more than six Pokemon, this is the kind of choice trainers have to make every single day. I should have known things would come to this eventually. Now, it's time to decide. I can ignore the issue altogether, and just not take Minccino along, but... I dunno. He's clearly desiring to see some action beyond the casual battles mom has with her friends, and Minccino seems to be placing his faith in me...

I decide to try and figure out which of my current six Pokemon I should leave behind.

Minccino's a normal-type... and I already have a normal-type in Rufflet, but, as my only Pokemon that's unevolved, who, as opposed to Dewott, has a desire to evolve further, he still needs training, plus he's gonna become my wings sooner or later, so I'd better keep him around. Besides, Gym Leaders are still able to put up a good enough fight with a bunch of Pokemon of the same type, so what's two normal-types?

Like Rufflet still needs training, so does Absol, who hasn't seen any real action yet, so leaving him behind wouldn't exactly be fair. Besides, having him around is therapeutic for me.

Marowak, maybe? I don't need to think very hard on this one: absolutely not. He has a ton of pride, plus he was let go by his old trainer. He'd probably consider my choice to leave him at home to be insulting, and our relationship would hit yet another strain. It looks like the two of us are in this until the day I die...

Magmortar, then? No, when we first met, he came right up to me, wanting to be captured, so he could have some great battles, and leaving him here would deny him that. Besides, he's my most powerful Pokemon in terms of energy attacks, as well as my main long-range fighter.

How about Gallade? Well, he follows me, almost like a knight serving a queen, so I doubt he'd raise any major objections to staying here, but, looking at this from an executive point-of-view, he's also right up there with Magmortar as being one of my more powerful Pokemon, him being my ace melee combatant. Besides, with the next Gym Leader being an ice-type expert, a fighting-type will be good to have around, so leaving him behind would not be the best idea.

That leaves Dewott. I doubt he'll object too strongly to staying with mom, but he's my first Pokemon. Can I really just leave him, after all we'd been through? It doesn't feel right...

I consider what Bianca and Cheren might have gone through when they traded Drilbur and Sawk away. Something tells me it must have not been a lightly-made decision, and it's not like I'm going to be trading my Pokemon away to a complete stranger, but just leave it behind with mom, and it would hardly be a permanent parting. At the same time, though, they'll miss out on all the real action they love so much. Damn it, this decision is impossible...

I look out of the corner of my eye, and notice a calender hanging on the wall, right next to my door. It wasn't there before, so it must have been a present from mom. How thoughtful of her. Come to think of it, I haven't really been keeping very good track of time since the journey began. Luckily, mom had X'd out the days that have gone by.

I force myself out of bed, and count the number of days, from now, until the beginning of autumn, when I gotta return home, and go back to school. I count forty-two days, though it's a good idea to come back home a couple days prior, rest up, and prepare, in which case, I have an even forty days remaining, until my journey has to be put on hold for the next eight months. Luckily, I have senior year coming up, and with that, graduation, so after that school year, I can do all the journeying I want, if I choose to. Of course, I doubt Team Plasma is just gonna sit and wait for me to graduate, so I'd best take care of things in the time I have, though with everything at stake, I guess some make-up schoolwork would be the least of my worries.

That said, whatever fighting skills Minccino has, and how much training he needs will count for quite a bit in the time I have, so if I am to take him along, I'd better make an evaluation of that...

I glance at the window, seeing that the sun is not far from the horizon, and then toward my Pokemon gathered in front of the telly, watching a scene in my Pokeflick, where Sawk is hamming it up with overdone 'justified revenge' dialogue to Emboar, looking like they're having a good time (except Gallade, who's meditating, and Marowak, thinking he's too cool to participate in an activity with everyone else). I call out, “Hey we're gonna head out for a little while. Let's go!” I recall all my Pokemon, but leave Gallade's Pokeball on the bed, since if I'm caught outside with seven Pokemon for even a split-second, I can kiss my trainership buh-bye (how Skyla gets away with having all her Pokemon following her, I have no clue).

Minccino and I head downstairs and out the door, with me grabbing the Chinchilla Pokemon's Pokeball from the nearby wall. From there, we go to Route 1, and into the woods, the overhead branches looking black against the orange sky, looking for some wild Pokemon to train against. While I'm here to see how Minccino performs in a real battle, I send out Dewott and Rufflet to back him up, if things go south for the normal-type, or we get ambushed...

---

… and after ten minutes of looking, ambushed we get. Around us, six Pokemon emerge from behind trees and out of brush: two of them are Purrloins, and one is a Liepard, but the last three are Pokemon unfamiliar to me. I hadn't seen them around on Route 1 before, so I guess they're starting to settle in, for better or worse. Two of them are two-foot-tall yellow humanoid lizard-ish Pokemon with round heads and permanent wardrobe malfunctions in the foreskin dropped at their feet, which they periodically pulls up to cover their bodies, only for it to drop again. My Pokedex identifies them as 'Scraggy.' The last one is looks a lot like the two Scraggies, right down to the drooping foreskin, only a little over three feet tall, mostly orange in color, and it looks like it has a red mohawk, and wearing a hoodie. My Pokedex identifies this one as 'Scrafty.'

The Scraggies and Scrafty are dark/fighting-types, apparently, and with the Liepard and Purrloins they appear to be allied with, it's almost like that night on Route 3... however, I'm not worried. Ever since beating Elesa, my Pokemon have been trained well enough that wild Pokemon aren't as much of a challenge to them anymore... of course, that only applies to Dewott and Rufflet, who, even two against six, I know for a fact can defeat all of them; However, we're here to see how Minccino can fare in a battle.

I instruct my Pokemon, “Dewott! Rufflet! Take out the Purrloins and Scraggies, then back Minccino up, if he needs it. Minccino, go after either the Liepard or Scrafty!”

“Dew!”

“Let!” Dewott and Rufflet respond confidently.

“M-min!” Minccino responds, clearly not used to a situation like this, but seemingly determined to prove his worth.

The six dark-types surrounding us gradually close in, looking forward to the meal they think they're gonna get. This isn't gonna be like Route 3! I'm not gonna give them the satisfaction of watching me cower! Instead, I challenge them with as much intensity as I can muster, “Alright! Do your worst!”

The dark-types accept my challenge and converge on us.

One of the Scraggies throws a punch at Rufflet, who dodges and counters with a Wing Attack, sending that Scraggy flying into the other Scraggy. With the two of them together, Rufflet goes for the finishing blow, with his form turning into a sky-blue bird silhouette. Using his Brave Bird attack, he slams into them, the three of them jetting deeper into the forest.

On Dewott's end, one of the Purrloins leaps at him, swinging its claws, but the Discipline Pokemon blocks the attack with one of his scalchops, and, with his weapons glowing reddish-brown, KOs it with a Revenge attack, using his other shell. The second Purrloin tries to back up its partner, poised to pounce, but Dewott, performing a variation of his Razor Shell attack, tosses one of his scalchops, glowing blue, which cuts through the dark-type, defeating it, and returns to its thrower, like a boomerang.

As for Minccino, he decides to pick a fight with the Scrafty. Right away, it's apparent that the Chinchilla Pokemon is very agile, despite his stubby legs, faster even than a couple of my Pokemon, and that's with their Power Anklet training. That, coupled with his small size, Minccino does seem to have possibilities as a battler. However, this isn't to say that Scrafty is completely outclassed. Despite his agility, Minccino, who had never fought a serious battle, is still attacking an opponent with an evolutionary advantage straight-on. Minccino performs a quick spin, attempting to strike the dark/fighting-type with his tail, but Scrafty lifts up the skin gathered at its feet. The attack strikes the skin, which seems to have an elastic effect, protecting Scrafty from harm, and bouncing back the normal-type's attack, momentarily stunning him. Scrafty, not missing a chance to attack Minccino while his guard's down, quickly drops down, and delivers a low kick, which sends the Chinchilla Pokemon tumbling across the ground, and back-first against the trunk a nearby tree, steam rising from where he was struck.

“Miiiiin!” The Chinchilla Pokemon cries out.

With Minccino momentarily stunned, the Liepard jumps toward him to deliver a follow-up attack. I'm about to recall the normal-type, when Dewott covers Minccino with a Hydro Pump attack, blasting the dark-type out of the air with a powerful blast of water. Liepard is sent crashing through a tree, and flying clean out of the battlefield.

Scrafty's body momentarily pulses with red energy. According to my Pokedex, that's Scrafty's ability, Moxie, which causes it to become stronger every time it gains an advantage in battle. Not a good sign...

Dewott strikes a battle stance, ready to battle Scrafty, as does Rufflet, who returns to the battle. However, as I notice Minccino getting to his feet, I say, “Stand back, you guys! Let Minccino handle this!” I'm not sure if Minccino can do it, but he's here to prove he can put up a good fight, and I'm going to see that through, as long as he's standing.

“Cino...” Minccino give me a sideways glance, and nods.

“Scraaaa!” Scrafty leaps into the air, and then shoots down toward Minccino with one leg extended. Luckily, Minccino manages to recover enough to dive out of the way of what would have no doubt have been a finishing blow. Scrafty's flying kick instead knocks over the tree Minccino was previously pinned against.

“Its guard is down!” I shout, “Here's your chance!”

“Cino!” Minccino leaps at Scrafty from its flank, and performs a rapid midair somersault, slamming Scrafty several times fast over the head, without hitting the ground.

I notice that a split-second before every strike, Minccino's body pulses with white light. I snap a picture with my Pokedex, and besides 'Pokemon: Minccino' and 'Technique: Tail Slap,' the result I get is 'Ability: Technician.' Apparently, it gives a small power boost to Minccino's lower powered attacks, making every strike he delivers at least reasonably powerful.

With Scrafty staggering back, stunned, Minccino lands, and from there, goes in for the finishing blow. With a momentary white pulse and his tail glowing reddish-brown, Minccino delivers multiple blows to the dark/fighting-type's head, with a technique my Pokedex identifies as Wake-Up Slap. Finally, with one last extra-powerful strike, Scrafty is sent flying back and hits the ground, out cold, with steaming rising from multiple places on its head.

“Min min miiiin!” Minccino glances back at me, with a smirk spread across his face, clearly self-aware that he did something right. Well, it looks like he does have potential as a fighter.

From there, Minccino runs up to Dewott.

“Min min min!” Minccino says, sounding grateful. It makes sense. After all, Dewott did totally save Minccino back there.

“Wott dewott.”

“Cino!” With that, Minccino and Dewott rub tails... a sign of friendship, maybe?

Dewott and Minccino exchange some more words, “Wott. Wott dew.”

“Cino!”

“Wott?”

“Miiiiiiin!” With a cry, Minccino leaps into the air and swings his tail down at Dewott, who blocks the attack with one of his scalchops. Seriously... Pokemon have some weird relationships sometimes. Oh well, I guess Minccino has some adrenaline to spare. Might as well let him work it off...

Minccino presses his offensive, but Dewott keep successfully managing to defend himself. For just the slightest moment, I notice Minccino's eyes wandering away from Dewott, and at me. Is that what this is all about? Is he trying to impress me, or something?

Dewott blocks another one of Minccino's tail strikes and counters with a Water Gun attack, which launches the Chinchilla Pokemon into the air away from the water-type. After a twenty foot drop, Minccino hits the ground hard.

“Ci... no...” Minccino wearily gets to his feet, looking determined to go another round.

“That's enough,” I say, “Okay, Minccino. I get the message. You're a pretty good fighter, but you're not at Dewott's level.”

Smiling cheerfully, Minccino raises his arms and makes a couple small hops, “Minccino minccino...!”

I hold out Minccino's Pokeball, “Alright, let's get you fixed up, and go home. Return.” I recall the Chinchilla Pokemon.

---

We head back to Accumula Town, and I hand in Minccino to be healed. Since there are so few trainers going through town today, and that I'm only handing in one Pokemon to be healed, the whole process only takes a few minutes.

From there, we go back home, where mom cooks a massive dinner for all nine of us. Afterward, I take a shower, head to my room, send out all my Pokemon again, and put on another movie for them. However, only Rufflet and Magmortar are paying it any mind this time. Gallade is meditating again, Marowak is still too cool for anything fun, and Absol, who I note is a tad on the lazy side, has already drifted off to sleep.

As for Dewott and Minccino, they are sitting at a corner of the room, looking like longtime buddies, and seeming to have a pretty serious heart-to-heart, with mostly the Chinchilla Pokemon talking, and the Discipline Pokemon listening. I lay back in bed, watching them, trying to guess at what they're talking about.

I know Minccino wants to be trained and battle, but I also know that leaving one of my Pokemon behind in favor of him is not gonna be an easy choice... and while some of my reasoning is on an executive level, part of me is worried about making the unlucky Pokemon feel rejected, or worse.

Seeing Minccino fight, he's definitely got potential as a combatant. He could easily become my fastest Pokemon, and he's great with combination attacks, and as a normal-type, his only real weakness is to fighting-type attacks. He'd be great to have along, plus, I'd known him for a long time, and he seems to be very eager... but that is part of the problem, as it makes this choice so much tougher...

Annoyed by my own thoughts, I mentally let out a quick scream. Skyla, Bianca and Cheren, N, Minccino... Too much has happened today, and I'm too tired to think about it right now. I let my heavy eyelids close, and do nothing to try to open them again. Maybe if I sleep on it, I'll have an easier time making the decision. Gradually, the sounds of the TV, and Dewott and Minccino conversing fade into something almost otherworldly, as my consciousness drifts away...

---

I don't know how long I'd been asleep, but I wake up to a bright room, a light weight on my shoulder, and something very soft rubbing against my cheek. I open my eyes, and see Minccino standing on me, rubbing my cheek with his tail.

“Hm...? Minccino...?” I say, opening my eyes, and having one of those 'Ah! Where am I?' moments... in my own bedroom. How about that...? Being used to waking up anywhere, except your own room. Luckily, the memories flow back quickly, and I remember what I'd been thinking about before.

Most of the time, sleep had cleared my head, and made me handle things better (ie. Cheren's illness), but in this case, it didn't help much. I'm still having trouble deciding whether to leave Minccino behind, or take Minccino along, leaving another one of my Pokemon behind. No matter how I look at it, it's a lose-lose scenario. I want to take Minccino along, but at the same time, I don't know if I should...

Also, I have to make my choice soon, as the next day had arrived, and with there only being thirty-nine days left of my summer vacation, and by extension, my Pokemon journey, we have to get back to Iccirus City today, and start training.

I recall my Pokemon, who are spread all over my room's floor, either still asleep or had been woken up by the sound of me waking up. At any rate, I put my vest, hat, and Pokeball belt on, recall everyone, and sling my supply bag's strap over one shoulder. Afterward, I head downstairs, with Minccino at my heels.

Being the light sleeper she is, mom is already up. She always cooks a massive dinner, but a modest breakfast of bacon and either pancakes or waffles; It looks like today is a pancake day.

“Good morning Ria!” mom greets as I grab a pancake, several strips of bacon, pour myself a bowl of cereal, and a glass of Moomoo Milk, and join her at the kitchen table, where she's already eating, “How are you this morning?”

“Pretty good,” I answer, “It's nice sleeping in my own bed again.”

“Good to hear,” says mom. Now, with those customary pleasantries out of the way, she gets straight to business, “So, have you decided to take Minccino along, Ria?”

Minccino leaps onto the table, and looks up at me, clearly anticipating the answer.

It looks like there's no beating around the proverbial bush. Time to explain my situation straight-out, “I dunno, mom. I mean, I'm kinda attached to my Pokemon, and I'm afraid leaving one of them behind might hurt their feelings. Plus, I'm about to go for my seventh badge, and my guys have become really powerful, so I don't know if I should...”

“Min min miiiin!” Minccino cuts in, giving me a sour look.

“I'm sorry, Minccino,” I say, “I know you're tough, but...”

“You still have plenty of days left,” says mom, “and you've clearly trained your Pokemon to become as strong as they are in a very short amount of time. You obviously have talent as a trainer. In fact, after hearing the news of your progress, your cousin, Hilbert, is calling you a genius!”

“A... genius?” Well, that's the first time I'd ever been called that, or really, any title implying that I have a high IQ. It's... kinda nice.

However, just as my spirit is about to start soaring to this latest evaluation of my intellect, mom adds, “Of course, he believes everyone is a born genius at something, be it cooking, sewing, flower arrangement, and so on, so don't start getting an oversized ego, okay? Anyway, getting back on track, in the amount of time you have, shouldn't it only take a week or two for Minccino to become as powerful as the rest of your Pokemon? After all, they strengthen rapidly, up to a certain point, don't they?”

“Well, yeah... It's just... I dunno. I do want to take Minccino along. I really do... It's just... just...” What should I say? I'm totally backed into a corner here. Mom said I could just keep going as I am, and leave Minccino behind. Heh. As if. She's really pushing me, here.

“Cino!” Minccino jumps over my plate and into my lap. From there, he yanks Dewott's Pokeball from my belt, and jumps onto the table again.

“Hey!” I yell.

Minccino tosses Dewott's Pokeball up a couple inches, and then swings his tail, batting it a few feet upward, and over the edge of the table. When the Pokeball lands, there's a flash, and Dewott appears.

“Wott wott?”

Minccino jumps off the table, landing in front of Dewott, and points toward me, “Cino minccino!”

“Dew?”

“Min!”

“Wott! Wott!”

“Cino min min.”

“Dew...”

“Min!”

“Dewott wott...” With those words, Dewott stands behind Minccino, and gives him a small push in my direction.

“Huh? Dewott?” I say.

Dewott gives Minccino another hesitant push in my direction.

“... Are you asking me to take Minccino along?” With how understanding Dewott seems, I have a feeling this is what they were chatting about last night.

“Dew.” Dewott nods.

“Dude, are you sure? I mean, you're my first Pokemon. We'd been through so much together.”

Dewott smiles resignedly, “Wott...”

“Don't forget that Dewott will be waiting for you when you come home,” says mom.

Dewott nods and Minccino looks up at me pleadingly.

I finally make my choice and sigh, “Alright. Welcome to the team, Minccino.”

“Min min min!” yells Minccino excitedly.

“Dew...” Dewott gives a somewhat sad smile.

“Hey, don't worry, Dewott,” I say, getting up from my chair, kneeling down, and giving the Discipline Pokemon a hug, “I'll be back before you know it, and next summer, we'll travel together again!”

“Dewott!” Dewott exclaims happily.

I release Dewott from my embrace and stand up, “Besides, in the meantime, we'll have plenty of battles with Bianca and Cheren! It'll be fun!”

“Dew!” says Dewott happily.

I quickly finish the last my breakfast, walk over to mom, and pull my notebook out of my supply bag, “Well, mom. It looks like Dewott's gonna be in your care for a little while. There's some stuff you should know...” I flip through my notebook, until I find a page with various notes I took about Dewott, rip it out, and hand it to mom, “Dewott is a pretty chill Pokemon, overall, but he can be a little quick tempered at times. His favorite food is frozen snacks, so make sure he gets to eat plenty of frozen yogurt and ice cream. Also see to it he trains regularly, and has plenty of battles with your friends' Pokemon; We can't let him get rusty. Also...”

Mom lets out a chuckle, “Haha! You sound so... professional, Ria.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Don't worry, Ria. I promise I'll take good care of Dewott. In the meantime, make sure Minccino trains hard.”

“Will do,” I say. I glance down at Minccino, “Minccino, don't expect any VIP treatment. You're gonna train just as hard as everyone else, especially now that we're preparing to take on Gym Leader number seven.”

“Min.” Minccino nods determinedly.

I turn toward Dewott, “... and Dewott... Take good care of mom while I'm gone, alright?”

“Dewo.” Dewott nods his head in response.

With an agreement made, I hand Dewott's Pokeball to mom, while she gives me Minccino's Pokeball; an official Pokemon trade; something I never thought I'd find myself doing. I recall the Chinchilla Pokemon, and with a farewell to my mother, I head out.

I think to myself about how I promised Dewott that we'll travel again and have plenty of battles. Well, if N gets his way, that's not gonna happen. I didn't tell mom about just how deeply I'd gotten myself involved with Team Plasma, as not to worry her, but the training isn't just about defeating the next Gym Leader. In order to keep my promise to Dewott, I must foil Team Plasma's scheme somehow.

I never thought much about my future, but now that I know where my talent lies, I know I want to be a trainer for a good long time, so for that, we will train harder then ever.

Thirty-nine days to go. It's gonna be tight, but I will earn all the badges, and defeat N in that time. With that thought, I leave the Nuvema Town district, and head up Route 1.

---

As I head to the Accumula Town-Route 2 checkpoint, I decide I'd might as well pay a quick visit to the Professor, since I'm in the area. After taking a small detour, I arrive at Professor Juniper's lab.

I head inside. As usual, there are a few aides on computers, doing Pokemon research stuff that's beyond my understanding. I walk through the lab, keeping an eye out for the Professor.

“Ria?” I hear a somewhat familiar male voice behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see Cedric Juniper, with the trademark smile that seems to run in the Juniper family.

“Hey! Cedric!” I greet, “It's great to see you again!”

“I'm surprised to see you here,” says Cedric, “I heard from my daughter that you were on your way to Iccirus City.”

“Yeah, well, our pet-slash-housekeeper wanted to become a badass fighter, and mom wanted me to make it happen.”

Cedric laughs, “Hahaha! Well, she chose a good person for the job! Anyway, how have you been doing since Undella Town? Are you handling yourself better around dark-types?”

“Totally!” I answer, “Yesterday, my Pokemon and I were surrounded by six dark-types. My Pokemon took them down, and I wasn't scared at all!”

Cedric raises an eyebrow, “Not at all, after five years of trauma?”

I let out a sigh. “Okay, maybe a little,” I admit, “but I didn't start biting my fingernails, or anything like that. It's as you taught me: stand strong for the sake of my Pokemon. Besides, I wasn't as afraid as I would have been before you helped me out.”

Cedric beams, “I'm happy my advice helped you out as much as it did!”

A door to a side room opens, and Junior Juniper appears, “Hey, daddy, I just...” She pauses and takes notice of me, “Oh! Ria! Last time I checked, you were on your way to Iccirus City, but now you're here! You never cease to surprise me, my dear student!”

I let out a small chuckle, “Surprises, huh? I guess I'd been full of those nowadays, even to myself. For example, before I went on this journey, who would have thought I'd manage to win six badges?”

“Very true,” says Professor Juniper, “Two more badges, and the Pokemon League, and you'll be a Pokemon Master!” 'Pokemon Master' is an unofficial term people nickname Master Ranked trainers.

“Doesn't sound too bad,” I say, “Anyway, I'm on my way back to Iccirus City, and I thought I'd say hi.”

“Ria, would you care to tells us what's gone on since you left Undella Town and before you came here?” asks Cedric.

“Yeah, sure.” I tell Junior and Senior Juniper about my Mistralton adventures, meeting up with both Bianca and Cheren, our trip to the Celestial Tower and running into Alder, my battle for the Jet Badge, Bianca and Cheren's epic match, throw in Cheren's possible budding relationship with Skyla for a couple smiles, and finally, our run-in with N at Spiral Mountain. At Cedric's request, I explain my other encounters with N as well.

“... by the way,” I say, “N mentioned a place called the 'Dragonspiral Tower.' Do either of you know about it?”

“I have,” says Cedric, “Recently, I have been looking into Unova's origins, hoping to learn more about certain Pokemon. The Dragonspiral Tower is believed to be the most ancient of Unova's ruins.”

“Alright, cool,” I say, “N told me to go there if the 'signs,' or whatever, show themselves. Any idea what he might have been talking about?”

Cedric shakes his head, “I don't know anything about 'signs,' but going there is next to impossible, according to what I'd heard.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Dragonspiral Tower is located in a large lake on the outskirts of Iccirus City. However, it is mostly submerged, and hundreds of Basculin live around it, attacking anyone who tries to get near. As a result, no one has ever gotten into the tower.”

“So, N wants me to go to an underwater tower surrounded by man-eating fish Pokemon...” I note. Since Basculin are a common sight throughout Unova, I don't need a Pokedex to know what they are.

Cedric adds, “There's also a pedestal located on the shore outside the lake, but it's currently unknown what it's for.”

“I see...” I say, “I knew I should have pressed N for a straight explanation...”

“Speaking of this 'N' character,” says Professor Juniper, “Could you come with me, Ria?”

The Professor heads back into the room she came from, followed by Cedric and me. Inside is her personal computer. She sits down, taps a few keys, and a picture comes up on the monitor, which I instantly recognize: In full-color high-definition is the class picture I took of N and his Pokemon with my Pokedex at Spiral Mountain, out of curiosity of which Pokemon were with him.

The Professor glances back at me, and smiles, “Good picture, Ria. I still think you have promise as a photographer. At any rate, you said you ran into N at Spiral Mountain. Since your Pokedex's signal showed you to be in that area when this picture was taken, I take it this handsome young man is N?”

“Yup, he sure is,” I answer.

“And you say he's Team Plasma's leader?”

“Again, he sure is.”

The Professor's face lights up, “This is great, then! We have a picture of Team Plasma's leader! If we send this to the International Police, then maybe they can--”

Cedric cuts in, “I don't think that will work out as well as you think, Aurea.”

“Huh? Why not, daddy?”

“Even if N is Team Plasma's leader, as Ria claims,” Cedric explains, “All the times she said she'd seen him, he was alone, with no Team Plasma members nearby. It's clear he's traveling as a trainer, and that's not a crime...”

Though it will be, if N succeeds, I think to myself.

“... There just isn't enough to go on for the International Police to rightly arrest him.”

Professor Juniper lets out a deep sigh, “... And here I thought we had a chance at nabbing the head of Team Plasma and ending their crime spree. I knew this was too good to be true...”

Something about this whole topic is making me uncomfortable; talking about N like he's a criminal. I dunno what I'm thinking. I shouldn't feel strangely about this. After all, Team Plasma is going around, stealing people's beloved Pokemon, conning people into releasing them, whether they like it or not, and ultimately plan to make Pokemon training an illegal activity, which, if what Cheren said was true, might eventually mean the extinction of Unova's human population, and N is at the head of the whole thing... so why am I having so much trouble thinking of him like that? I mean, he's looking to join forces with some Legendary Pokemon, so he can become unbeatable and defeat Alder, yet I feel almost like... he's my... what? Acquaintance? Rival?

“Um, anyway,” I say, “I just thought I'd swing by, and maybe learn some stuff, but I gotta get back to Iccirus City. I only have, like, thirty-nine days until summer vacation ends, and I wanna get to training, so I can get as much stuff done before then.”

Cedric laughs, “Haha! You're quite the dedicated trainer, Ria! Anyway, regarding what N said about the Dragonspiral Tower, I want to know more about that place, so if anything comes up, please contact me.” Cedric tells me his Xtransciever frequency.

“Will do,” I say, “What N told me was pretty weird, but whatever. 'Weird' is par for the course of my journey so far.”

“Alright,” says the Professor, “Good luck, Ria. Do call me if you need any help.”

“Thanks,” I say. Giving the Junipers one last goodbye, I head out of the lab, and to the bus stop, and from there, en route back to Iccirus City.

---

I travel from Accumula Town to Castelia City, then from Castelia City to Nimbasa City, passing under Route 4 for the third time on this journey, and finally, I'm on the subway to Iccirus City.

I'm sharing a subway car with five other people. Three of them are in their early-to-mid twenties, and wearing gray shirts with silver logos of two interlocked letter 'U's' on them. It's an expected sight, as Iccirus City doubles as an academic town, where the University of Unova, which those shirts represent, is located.

Besides the three Unova U students, there's a businessman, and a fellow trainer with eight badges and a Pokemon League badge pinned to her shirt; a certified Pokemon Master. She seems to be the same age as me, and I don't think it's a stretch that we started out as trainers around the same time, but she already has all eight badges, and the proof of Pokemon mastery. As great a trainer practically every other person around me has told me I am, I'm not exactly one-in-a-million; there are tons of skilled trainers in the world. In fact, the Unova Championship Tournament usually lasts for well over a month, due to the sheer number of entrants.

My mind wanders to my recent encounter with N. Every time I see that guy, he gives me more and more brain material to sort out. In this case, I wonder why he told me all that stuff he, and Team Plasma, would be better off not sharing, but did anyway. Just what the heck could N gain from that? Sure, he's a little strange, but he doesn't seem stupid.

If Reshiram thinks he's worth helping out, he'll be matched by few, if any, Pokemon trainers... and yet he's telling me to try to stop him. Sure, I got the sense that he might be seeing things from the other side's point-of-view, and wants to be challenged, but if he becomes strong enough to beat the Champion, what chance does anyone else have? What's the point of telling me to try to stop him, if he's only gonna become too powerful to be beaten by anyone, including Alder?

I'm snapped out of my tangle of thoughts when the subway's intercom announces, “Ten minutes until arrival in Iccirus City. I repeat, ten minutes until arrival in Iccirus City.”

I lean back in my seat. Damn it, this is so messed up.

Oh well, all I can do for now is the same thing I always do: keep moving forward, go with the flow, and wait for whatever the heck happens next...

TEAM UPDATE:


I hope you enjoyed this installment. I'd gotten kind of iffy about the choice to leave Dewott at home, and taking Minccino along in his place, but at the same time, I wanted Ria to encounter that aspect of being a trainer, and while it did cross my mind for Ria to just not take Minccino along, and keep going with Dewott, I feel that whole dilemma would have been a waste of time, otherwise. Anyway, it wasn't a lightly-made decision on my part, and I hope you found it acceptable.

I hope the characterization is coming along alright.

At any rate, the next installment is probably going be another biggie, so I ask for your patience.

Again, fine chapter, keep it up, I don't like having to wait too long for the next one but whatever.
I think that the trade to get Minccino was well done. I didn't expect that that was what the surprise was - I think I may have been just as underwhelmed as Ria, lol. Still, that doesn't mean it was good, and I have no qualms with it.
What I do have qualms with is this time limit you seem to have imposed on Ria's journey... thirty-nine days, you say? Well I just hope that this won't impact on the story in the way of significantly altering the storyline. But I shall wait and see.
Characterization is fine. I like Ria's description of Absol as "lazy", lol. You wouldn't think, from the way he's described, he'd enjoy battling, preferring to laze at the sideline, or jump on passing Trainers. But I can see him battling, too.

Still, that doesn't mean it was good, and I have no qualms with it.

?

What I do have qualms with is this time limit you seem to have imposed on Ria's journey... thirty-nine days, you say? Well I just hope that this won't impact on the story in the way of significantly altering the storyline.

If you don't mind me asking, how is this detrimental to the story? I mean, I don't plan on it becoming a big issue, or anything. I just wanted to make things a little more realistic; Summer vacation doesn't last forever.

I like Ria's description of Absol as "lazy", lol. You wouldn't think, from the way he's described, he'd enjoy battling, preferring to laze at the sideline, or jump on passing Trainers. But I can see him battling, too.

Quirky nature, often dozes off.

?

I don't think it's bad even if it was less of a "big thing" or less surprising than I expected it might be.

If you don't mind me asking, how is this detrimental to the story? I mean, I don't plan on it becoming a big issue, or anything. I just wanted to make things a little more realistic; Summer vacation doesn't last forever.

It's not, I was just hoping it wouldn't become detrimental to the story. If you don't plan on it becoming a big issue, well, that's exactly what I wanted.

Well, I may not be personally happy with the trade (I've never like Minncino's relatively poor stats), I think it is good character development for the mother and her house Pokemon. Similar to this is Dawn's mother and her Glameow.

Standing in a square-shaped formation, Minccino, Gallade, Marowak, and Magmortar face off, a tag-team sparring match about to begin, with Gallade and Marowak on one team, and Minccino and Magmortar on the other.

The match begins with Minccino jumping toward Marowak, while Magmortar aims one of his cannons at Gallade and fires a bright-green blast: the grass-type technique, Solar Beam.

In response to Solar Beam, Gallade's arms glow with pink energy as he performs a defensive psychic-type move called Protect. He extends his arms, and catches the beam, causing it to condense into a ball, pulling it upward, and redirecting the blast skyward, though some streaks to the solar-powered grass-type technique did get through his defenses, inflicting minor damage.

At the same time, Minccino descends on Marowak, swinging his tail hard downward. However, the Bonekeeper counterattacks with and upward Brick Break attack, overpowering Minccino's normal-type technique, Slam, and sending him flying thirty feet into the air, with a thin stream of steam rising from his tail.

With the Chinchilla Pokemon hanging in the air, Gallade leaps up for a follow up technique. With one of his blades glowing reddish-brown, Gallade tries to hit Minccino with an upward slash, but the normal-type recovers, and performs a midair twirl, narrowly dodging Gallade's attack, and at the same time, builds up momentum and power for his counterattack.

Minccino performs a quick spin, and slams the Blade Pokemon hard with his tail, spiking the psychic/fighting-type diagonally downward, right toward Magmortar, who aims his cannon up at Gallade, a smirk spreading on his face.

A split second passes as fire-type energy gathers into the Blast Pokemon's cannon, and then he fires a massive fireball up at Gallade; the powerful fire technique, Fire Blast.

Gallade recovers, and in response, his blades glow dull-gray, and, using Stone Edge, he slices through the middle of the fireball with one blade, and descends on Marmortar, swinging his other blade downward.

Magmortar leaps backward, just barely getting grazed by the attack, but then Gallade jumps up, passing over the Blast Pokemon's head, performs a midair front-somersault, and, as he's facing Magmortar's back, upside-down, he performs a Psycho Cut attack, sending a psychic blade toward the fire-type's back. At the same time, Marowak's club glows brown, and he tosses his weapon at the Blast Pokemon.

Marmortar gets sandwiched between both Gallade's Psycho Cut and Marowak's Bonemerang, and the fire-type slumps to the ground, leaning on one of his arms to stay relatively upright. At that moment, however, Minccino lands right in front of Marowak, who is separated from his weapon, and open to attack. The Chinchilla Pokemon's tail glows blue, the start of Aqua Tail, a water-type technique, and he swings at the ground-type, a splash of water on contact.

“Maroooo!” Marowak cries out, as he's sent flying back several feet, steam rising from where he was struck. Minccino goes in for a follow-up attack, but Marowak, who ever since he took the Thick Club, and accepted it as his new weapon, it's become a part of him, manipulates the return flight of his weapon, which clips the Chinchilla Pokemon from behind.

Meanwhile, Magmortar gets back to his feet, and aims his cannon at Gallade, firing off a Thunderbolt attack, but Marowak raises his bone, and redirects the electric-type attack to him with his Lightningrod ability. From there, Marowak and Minccino and Gallade and Magmortar face off again.

“Good job, you guys! That's enough,” I call out.

“Marrrro!” Marowak charges at Minccino, who assumes a defensive stance.

I take on a stern tone, “I said that's enough, Marowak! Back off!”

“Wak...” Marowak listens this time, and walks away from Minccino, whose tail is twitching, like he's not through with whipping things with it.

At the same time, Gallade is smirking at Magmortar, no doubt because he outperformed the Blast Pokemon during the sparring match they just had. Lately, the two have formed a bit of a rivalry, which I'm cool with, as it keeps the training hard. I should know, having three rivals, and all.

I'm hanging from Rufflet's legs, as he flies up and drops down repeatedly, carrying a combined weight of three-hundred twenty pounds: Two Power Anklets on his legs, me, and another two Power Anklets on my legs, as, to train alongside my Pokemon, every time Rufflet flies up, I lift my knees toward my chest as high as I can. With fifty pounds on both of my legs, my thighs feel like rock on the outside and fire on the inside. As for Rufflet, I'm trying to power up his wings, so he'll be a faster and stronger flyer.

Finally, Absol, who had recently fought a series of sparring matches against my other Pokemon, and I decided to cut some slack, is curled up in a ball nearby, sleeping.

Three weeks have passed since my trip home, and every single day since then, bar none, have been training, training, training, in preparation for Iccirus Gym, Opelucid Gym, and N. Originally, I planned on two weeks, before taking on Iccirus Gym, but then I figured why not a third week, making this my longest and hardest run of training to date. Both Minccino and Absol have graduated from the Power Bracers (which were strapped to Minccino's tail, as that's what he attacks with 98% of the time), Lenses, and Anklets, and they have become just as powerful as everyone else... well, Absol, at least. As for Minccino, he's still yet to evolve, but, after checking my Pokedex and learning he needs exposure to a Shiny Stone to evolve, I took part of the day, three days ago, to take a trip to Driftveil City, go to the Market, and help support Clay's evolution stone industry. On Professor Juniper's advice, however, unlike Gallade, she told me to hold off on evolving Minccino, until I'm sure he's ready... and I think he's pretty danged close.

I look at the sky, and see the sun starting to set. I let go of Rufflet, who flutters to the ground, take the Power Anklets off of him and me, to the relief of both of us, and I look at each of my Pokemon “Alright, you guys. That's enough training for today. Let's get you back to full strength at the Pokemon Center, and we'll get one big dinner.”

“Ruff?” Rufflet looks up at me, pleadingly.

“Yes, Rufflet, I'll get you a pizza. Heck, I'll buy you two, even.”

“Rufflet rufflet!” Rufflet caws happily.

“Alrighty, then. Tomorrow, we'll do some light training, and then, we'll finally take on Iccirus Gym in the evening. I'm super proud of each and every one of you...” I raise my fist, “Tomorrow, we'll win for sure!”

With an undeniable morale boost, my Pokemon (except Absol, who's sleeping, and Marowak, who just gives me a silent grin) raise their fists, wing, or tail, and cry out triumphantly. I hold out everyone's Pokeballs and recall all of them.

“Whew...” I let out a sigh, looking down at my clothes, drenched by both my sweat and Rufflet's, as I think to myself, Wow, that was pretty darned impressive of you! Way to go, Ria!

I look around at the wide-open grassy field, located on the outskirts of Iccirus City, which have been our training grounds for the past three weeks. Just beyond it is a small patch of woods, and beyond that is the lake, where the Dragonspiral Tower is located. As Cedric told me, it's mostly submerged, with just the roof sticking out of the water. It did seem unusually deep for a lake, and as I looked in, there were a bunch of wild-eyed red-striped Basculin staring up at me, as if they were expecting me to take a swim. Fat chance. There was also the pedestal Father Juniper mentioned, located a few feet from the wide and deep body of water, which I tried standing on, only for nothing to happen, not that I was expecting anything. Finally, during the three weeks my Pokemon and I had been training (if the fact that I made the nearby field my training grounds, wasn't any indication), I'd been watching the Tower like a Staraptor, and there hadn't been anything I'd noticed which indicated any 'signs,' at least from my definition of the word. In other words, nothing had happened at all. Still, N did say 'if,' so maybe it won't happen; on the other hand, in the time that I'd spent close to the Dragonspiral Tower, I'd never seen N around, so maybe he's just taking his sweet time. My intuition leans toward the latter, unfortunately.

As I'm about to head back to Iccirus City to fix up my Pokemon, get us some dinner, clean up my sweat-coated body, and call it a night, a hear a familiar male voice, “So, we meet again! I saw how you trained your Pokemon. If they were mine, I'd be proud too.”

“Huh?” I glance over my shoulder, and see Alder, who seems to have appeared out of nowhere, approach me. I whirl around to face him, “Oh! Alder!”

Alder waves his hand, “Ah, don't be so uptight... then again, it's probably not so easy with my title. Anyway, I'm your friend, so relax... Ria?”

I let out a chuckle, “Heh. It looks like you finally remembered my name. So, what brings you here... Champ?”

Alder grins, “'Champ?' Atta girl! Keep calling me that. It's so... friendly. Anyway, truth be told, I frequent Iccirus City. It's the most beautiful place in Unova, and there's no place I like more. Grassy... alpine... It's quiet and peaceful in the summertime, yet so busy during the rest of the year, with students working hard to make their dreams for the future a reality.”

“Then I guess we're of a like mind about the place,” I say. It's true; I love Iccirus City. It's a simple little town, surrounded by nature. Most of the people here are young. Since it's the summer, the University isn't in session, but there are still plenty of students there, all from other regions, who live in the dorms, as I guess they lack the credits to visit home... However, the dorms aren't just limited to Unova University students, but traveling Pokemon trainers, as well. The Iccirus Pokemon Center is made up of several buildings, all on campus: A building to heal Pokemon, shops and restaurants, and the three-to-six floored dorm buildings, some reserved for students and others reserved for trainers.

As for the university, it's made up of various old-styled buildings. It's the most prestigious college in Unova, and, while she never really told Bianca, Cheren, and me about her academic history, I don't think it's a stretch that this place put the 'Professor' in Professor Juniper's name. Even through I want to travel the world as a Pokemon trainer, assuming there are still Pokemon trainers when all this crap with Team Plasma is over, I wonder if I can convince mom to pay my tuition, just so I can live here as a proud student for a few semesters. Sure, I'm not exactly an ace student in school, but my accomplishments as a Pokemon trainer would look good if I wanted to study to be an International Police agent.

I'm snapped out of my reverie when Alder asks, “It looks like you're alone this time. Where's that boy and girl I'd seen you with the last times our paths have crossed?”

“You mean Bianca and Cheren?” I ask, “Bianca headed to Nimbasa City and Cheren moved on to Opelucid City.” Not long after I arrived back in Iccirus City, Bianca sent me a transmission, saying she decided to skip through Driftveil City, and make Elesa her seventh Gym Leader. I guess this means 'the Boss' will be her opponent for badge number eight. As for Cheren, the day after I returned, he went on ahead to Opelucid City, saying it might be best if we lone Absol'd it for a little while. As such, if he beats Iris/Drayden, his last Gym Leader will be the guy I'm about to battle.

“I see,” says Alder, “Well, I plan to stay in Iccirus City for a few days. You said you're gonna take on Brycen tomorrow? I'll wait for you at his Gym to see your battle.”

“Huh? Are you sure?” I ask.

“Of course,” says Alder, “After all, you were my student-for-a-day, so I'd like to see how much more powerful you'd become. It makes me know I'd done something right.”

“Um... thanks...” I say. Great... the Champion himself is gonna be overseeing my upcoming Gym Battle. Well, no pressure there... “I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then.”

“I'll be expecting a good show from you,” says Alder as I walk away, and he takes off his oversized backpack, and lays out a sleeping bag on the grass. I wonder why he doesn't use the Pokemon Centers. I guess he's just the outdoorsy type...

---

I get my Pokemon healed up at the Center, and then we go for a huge meal, affordable by the many trainers I'd beaten during my stay. I guess I'm starting to see why Cheren wanted the three of us to go our separate ways for a little while; it gives us a chance to be alone with our Pokemon, and strengthen our bonds. Being together at the table, it's like we're a family. Even though Marowak, ever the loner, doesn't speak much, he at least passes condiments to the other Pokemon, so I guess I can take that as a sign that he likes us, anyway. Still, even now, it feels a little weird without Dewott around...

After dinner, we head to the dorm we'd been assigned to during our stay, so I can get cleaned up and rest up for the big day tomorrow. After taking a nice shower, I head to my room: a small space, with only a prison-made cabinet and small bed (and dust, until Minccino did something about that), and recall all my Pokemon, except Minccino.

I sit on the edge of the bed, and say, “Hey, Minccino? You've worked really hard and become so strong. You've become one hardcore housekeeper, man.”

Minccino jollily smiles at my compliment. It's hard to believe something as small and cuddly as him could kick (or tail-smack) as much butt as did. “Cino cino cino!”

I reach into my bag, and pull out a glowing white rock: the Shiny Stone I recently purchased at the Driftveil Market, “This is called a Shiny Stone. If you touch it, you'll evolve and become even stronger. I was told to hold off on giving it to you, until I was sure you were ready, but... I think you're ready. So... would you like to evolve to your more powerful form?”

“Cino!” I wonder if my Pokemon have some sort of psychic link that causes them to eagerly jump at the opportunity to evolve via external sources, because like Kirlia and Magmar before him, Minccino, instead of waiting for me to give him the Shiny Stone, jumps onto my lap, snatches to stone from me, and jumps back to the floor.

Minccino's body becomes a white silhouette. First, he grows just a few inches taller. Next, his tail becomes longer and thicker. Finally, two long fluffs sprout from his head. The light clears, and the Pokemon Minccino evolves into... really doesn't look that much different than he did before. However, his tail is now pure white, as are the two growths from his head, and the fur around his neck, which looks somewhat loose.

“Cin cinccino!”

I analyze the new Pokemon with my Pokedex. It's called Cinccino, the Scarf Pokemon, a normal-type.

“Alright... Min-- I mean, Cinccino!” I say, “Let's do our best tomorrow!” The name, 'Cinccino' is gonna take some getting used to, after I'd known him as Minccino for five years...

“Cino!”

---

The next day day, I rent a bicycle, and ride along the perimeter of Iccirus City, with my Pokemon racing me... and I come in last, since all my guys, even the slower ones, like Marowak, can run faster than I can ride. It's a pretty good sign. Afterward, there are a few quick sparring sessions, then I get my Pokemon fixed up at the Center.

Finally, we head to the western outskirts of the town (our training grounds are on the northern outskirts), where the Gym is. Unlike Skyla's Gym, it has a roof... but like it, it's not an actual building; it's located in a cave, a lot like Clay's underground Gym, which gets me wondering what kind of person this 'Brycen' dude is.

I walk inside, and am immediately blasted by a wave of cold air. It's not as frigid as the Cold Storage Dome, but still pretty darned cold. Since it's a particularly hot and humid summer day, I have to wonder if it's artificial, though there isn't any immediately obvious machinery.

I walk deeper into the cave, wishing I still had my winter gear from Driftveil City with me (I put it in Pokemon Center storage, after I didn't need it anymore). Soon, the ground is covered with ice, and the ceiling is dotted with icicles. The walls have the names of victorious challengers hand-carved into them.

I send out Magmortar to walk alongside me to keep warm, and walk a little ways deeper into the so-called 'Gym,' which only gets colder and colder as I go. Finally, at the end of a naturally-made corridor, I reach a double-doorway, and leaning against a nearby wall, arms folded, is Alder, who gives me a sideways glance, “Ah! Ria! You made it!”

“Hey, Alder,” I say.

“This is for your seventh badge,” says the Champ, “This is usually the make-or-break moment for most trainers, to determine whether or not they are ready for the real competition the Pokemon League has to offer.”

“Way to calm me down,” I say, though I know Alder's right. Trainers with more than six badges are a somewhat infrequent sight.

Alder lets out a laugh, “Hahaha! Don't worry about it, Ria! After seeing the way you trained your Pokemon yesterday, I'd say you have a chance. Take it from me.”

“Oh! Um... Thank you.” Well, I don't think there's anyone who knows better. With a slight spirit lift, I glance at Magmortar, and say, “Alright. Let's do this!”

Magmortar grins, “Mag! Mag!”

“You might want to recall Magmortar,” says Alder, “You wouldn't want Brycen getting a preview of your team, would you?”

I smile sheepishly, “I guess not...” I hold out Magmortar's Pokeball, “Return!” Magmortar vanishes with a flash, and the temperature around me nosedives.

Alder and I open the large doors, and we emerge into a spacious room, with a floor completely covered with ice, though it's coarse enough to not be very slippery. On the other end of the room is a man, wearing an off-the-shoulder blue Johtonian robe, with tied back silver hair... oh yeah, and also wearing a mask for some reason. He's sitting cross-legged, seemingly deep in meditation, though I'm surprised he can do anything in this cold, being dressed so casually.

“Hey! Brycen!” greets Alder.

Brycen opens his eyes, “... Oh! Master!”

“It's been a long time.”

I glance at Alder, “'Master?'”

Alder responds, “Let's just say I taught him a thing or two about being a trainer.”

Brycen's eyes turn toward me, “... and you are?” Wow, talkative fellow.

“I'm Ria,” I greet, “I'm here to challenge you!”

“... And I'm here to watch her,” adds Alder.

Brycen gets to his feet, “... Very well.” From there, he looks me over, “Six badges. I see. In that case, in order to accurately gauge your ability as a trainer, I have a special challenge for you.”

Wow, maybe's capable of saying more than I thought. “Well, what's up?” I ask.

“Our match will be a six-badge Gym battle, three-on-three, singles. There is no switch-out limit, but a Pokemon must be active for at least thirty seconds. Lastly, the three Pokemon you will use for this battle will be chosen at random.”

I step back. Eep! So much for my plan to dominate this match with Gallade and Magmortar. Still, with my three Pokemon being selected at random, there is a two-out-of-six chance (or one in three chance? Man, I suck at math) that I'll get at least one of them. I guess those odds aren't too bad. “Alright,” I say.

I put all my Pokeballs on the floor and close my eyes. Alder scrambles them, and I blindly choose three out of them. This feels like my first day as a trainer, making a chance selection, hoping for Tepig...

After picking up my selected Pokeballs, I open my eyes... and the Legendary Pokemon of luck isn't with me today... The centers of the three Pokeballs I picked are sky-blue, brown, and black: Rufflet, Marowak, and Absol. A ground-type and flying-type against a team of ice-types... not good...

Alder looks at me for a couple seconds, “... It looks like your poker face hasn't improved since we first met. Don't worry. Even if some of your Pokemon are at a disadvantage against ice-types, you couldn't have gotten as far as you did without some ways to cover their weaknesses, am I right?”

I nod, “Yeah, you're right.”

“Are you prepared, challenger?” asks Brycen.

“Totally,” I say, “Let's do this!”

Brycen moves a nearby chunk of ice on the floor, revealing a compartment. He reaches in and pulls out three Pokeballs. At the same time, I send out Magmortar, since keeping him a secret from Brycen is now a moot point, and his heat makes me warm enough to think, at least. Magmortar starts to walk around me to take his place on the battlefield, but I extend my arm to my side, blocking his path, “Sorry, Magmortar. I would send you out for this battle, but the rules say otherwise. Just stay close by, and give your teammates your support.”

“Mort...” Magmortar responds, sounding disappointed.

Brycen places his Pokeballs inside his robe, and says, “Then let us begin... after we pray.”

“... What?”

Alder lets out a chuckle, “Still the devoted Arceist, aren't you Brycen? Anyway, Ria, Brycen prefers to pray to the Legendary Pokemon before a match, and since you're in his Gym and playing by his rules, you should too. Just clasp your hands together and close your eyes.”

I sigh, “That's a little old-fashioned, but fine...” I do as Alder instructs.

Brycen says, “May the Legendary Pokemon, Victini, bless our match, and grant victory to the one who's worthy.” Brycen and I open out eyes, “Now, challenger, choose your first Pokemon, and let's start.”

I think about which Pokemon I can start with. I'm only allowed to use Rufflet, Marowak, and Absol during this match. Out of them, none have a distinct advantage over ice-types, and two have a disadvantage. Only Absol stands an even chance. Still, all three of them are capable of attacks ice-types are weak against, so I'll have to rely on those to win. Still, who to start with? Hm... I guess I'll test the waters with Marowak, plus, he's my heaviest hitter, so any attack he delivers that connects will do a ton of damage. Okay, it's decided!

I grab Marowak's Pokeball from my belt, and we toss our Pokeballs into the battlefield, “Go! Marowak!”

“Abomasnow!”

Marowak appears on my end, while the Pokemon that appears on Brycen's end is a massive seven-foot-tall semi-humanoid Pokemon covered with shaggy white fur, with green feet, hands, and tail, all of which are on the spiny side. My Pokedex analyzes this Pokemon as Abomasnow, a grass/ice-type. Crap... It has two types Marowak is at a disadvantage against. My luck really does stink today. Oh well, I'll just have to make up for it with pure skill!

“Don't forget that you can recall your Pokemon after thirty seconds,” Alder reminds me.

“Yeah. Got it.” I might have to take full advantage of that rule. I pull my Xtransceiver out of my pocket, and active a timer mode, which shows the seconds ticking by.

The battle begins. Marowak slowly sidesteps, waiting for either me to give a command, or Abomasnow to attack.

“Ice Shard!” Brycen commands. In response, Abomasnow opens its mouth, and fires out a tiny shard of ice, moving at an amazing velocity, kinda like a bullet, which pierces Marowak through his left arm, leaving a small steaming hole.

“Maroooo!” Marowak cries out.

“More,” says Brycen.

I counter-command, “Marowak! Take defensive action!”

Abomasnow fires several more ice bullets, which Marowak either dodges or blocks with his club, but the grass/ice-type definitely has us pinned down. I check my Xtransceiver to see if thirty seconds have passed. No such luck; It's only been twelve seconds since the battle started. Man, time just seems to slow down in a Pokemon battle...

I check the situation. Abomasnow is really big, but it hardly seems like the agile type, as it hasn't moved a step since the battle started. That said, there's little risk in telling Marowak to use Bonemerang, a technique I'd learned to be careful with, as it causes Marowak to separate from his club, leaving him pretty much helpless.

“Use Bonemerang, then advance!” I command.

“Wak!” Marowak blocks a volley of bullets from Abomasnow, then throws his bone across the battlefield, running after it. With Abomasnow being part grass-type, a ground-type attack like Bonemerang won't hurt it much, but if Marowak can get in close enough to use Brick Break, we might cause some major damage!

Marowak's bone connects, and bounces off Abomasnow's face, causing an effective stun. As I planned, this causes it to cease its attack long enough for Marowak to close the distance between them.

“Now, Brick Break!” I command.

“Maroooo!” Marowak leaps toward Abomasnow, grabbing his club out of midair, and with it glowing reddish-brown, he delivers a powerful blow across the grass/ice-type's head.

“Good one, Marowak... huh?” After a blow like that, most Pokemon would be sent reeling, but Abomasnow hasn't budged from where it's standing... and I soon notice why: the spines on its feet and tail have it firmly planted to the ground, which causes it still has the balance to counterattack, despite the blow it took.

“Wood Hammer!” Brycen commands.

“Abooooooma!” Abomasnow's arm glows green, and it swings it down at Marowak, whose reflexes are quick enough to take evasive action, but not to completely avoid the attack. Marowak jumps back, but the grass/ice-type's arm still manages to slam Marowak hard enough to send him flying back to my end of the arena.

“Roooo...” Marowak gets back upright, on one knee, using his club for support.

I check my timer again, and see that it's at twenty-eight seconds. I use the remaining two seconds to grab Marowak's Pokeball, hold it out, and say, “Return!” Marowak vanishes, though unlike the other Gym battles so far, his part in this fight is far from over.

I don't need to think too hard on who to use next. Abomasnow is a grass/ice-type, both of which are weak to fire. Even a lower-powered fire attack should still put a major dent in it.

“Go! Absol!” I send out Absol, who lets out a yawn, but then glances back at me with a 'I got this!' grin.

Again, we gotta close the distance between Absol and Abomasnow, but in this case, I know a fairly easy way of doing that. I wait for Brycen to give his command.

“Razor Leaf!”

Just as Brycen is at the 'Raz--' part of his command, I shout, “SP!”

Abomasnow extends its arms in Absol's direction, but in that very second, Absol is instantly in front of the grass/ice-type, and delivers a powerful slash with his head-blade.

“Snnnnnow!” Abomasnow cries out.

“'SP?'” questions Alder, raising an eyebrow, “That's pretty clever, Ria.” 'SP' stands for Sucker Punch, a technique where a Pokemon comes in fast, and strikes when it's opponent is off-guard, just before an attack. However, it's a very tough move to use, as there's a very brief time window for the trainer to give the command, and for the Pokemon to act on it, so when I want Absol to use that technique, I wait for the rival trainer to start giving his or her command, and then shout 'SP,' though I pronounce it more like 'spee,' as it takes less time to say than 'Sucker Punch.'

Abomasnow, who still has it balance, tries to counter with another Wood Hammer attack, but Absol leaps back to the center of the arena, completely dodging the attack.

“Great! Now use Flamethrower!” I shout.

“Ab...” Absol takes a deep breath, “Soooooool!” Absol brows out a thin steam of flames, but at the same time, Brycen holds out Abomasnow's Pokeball, and recalls it. Crap... I should have known...

Brycen sends out his next Pokemon, “Weavile!” The Pokemon that appears is a three-and-a-half foot tall bipedal cat-like Pokemon with black fur, something that looks like a red headdress and collar, two feather-shaped red tails, a yellow mark in the middle of its forehead, and some dangerous-looking claws. My Pokedex identifies this one as Weavile, a dark/ice-type.

“Agility,” commands Brycen.

“Wea!” Weavile starts running and... wow. As opposed to Abomasnow, who could barely move, this one is as quick as, excuse the cliché, lightning!

“Brick Break!” Weavile, with its claws glowing reddish-brown, moves around the arena rapidly, with complex movements. Absol tries to run after it, attempting attack after attack, but nothing comes close it hitting the dark/ice-type.

Finally, Weavile completely blindsides Absol, appearing at his seven o' clock position, and delivering a fighting-type slash, which sends Absol flying back, and sliding across the ground in my direction.

“Absol!” I yell.

Brycen gives his next command, “Crush Claw.”

“Viiiiile!” Weavile jumps toward the downed Absol. I glance at my timer, which now reads '1:01.' Okay! Time to pull the Disaster Pokemon back!

I recall Absol, just as Weavile is above him, and swings one of its claws down hard, causing the ground it strikes to erupt. Whew... Managed to avoid a finishing blow there.

Seeing as Weavile is a dark/ice-type, it has a critical weakness to fighting-type attacks. Something as small and fast as Weavile is a definite lightweight, so if we can get in a single fighting attack, that should be all that's needed to take it down. Also, Brycen still needs to wait for a little while before he can recall his Pokemon. Now is the time!

I send out Marowak again, aware that Weavile is far faster. However, through several sparring sessions, I'd figured out a way to cover that weakness.

Brycen probably knows he has a pretty big advantage, but his expression sure doesn't show it. Now that's a guy with a good poker face. He commands Weavile, “Ice Punch.”

Weavile's claws glow light-blue, and it starts dashing around again, no doubt to confuse Marowak, and then catch him off-guard, just like it did with Absol.

Marowak glances around, trying to follow Weavile's movements... and so am I. However, since I have a fuller view of the battlefield, I have a better read. It's pretty much moving in one direction, and then the other in random intervals. However, there is one thing that's consistent: Weavile seems to be gradually closing in on Marowak, and why not? As fast as it is, it would still need to be relatively close to blindside the ground-type as utterly as it did to Absol. Basically, it's moving in a very roundabout spiral.

As Weavile gets closer to Marowak, and no doubt going to strike at any moment, I command, “Now, Marowak! Bulldoze!”

“Maro!” Marowak grips his bone with both hands, and thrusts it into the ground. The surface around him starts to vibrate, just as Weavile dashes in to attack, the disruption causing it to stumble, then fall flat on its face.

“Alright, Marowak! Finish it off with Brick Break!”

“Waaaak!” Marowak's club glows reddish-brown.

Brycen holds out Weavile's Pokeball to call it back, but Marowak is already on the offensive, swinging his club down, throwing all his weight into it. The bone smashes against Weavile's back, and reddish-brown flames erupt from the bruise.

“Weaaaaaav!” With that injury, Weavile goes limp.

Brycen recalls Weavile, “Hmph. Pretty good, challenger...”

Alder claps his hands, “Not bad, Ria, not bad. Still, keep your guard up. Even though you're ahead, Brycen still has one Pokemon he's yet to use.”

“Got it,” I say, “Still, I have one I haven't sent out yet, so I guess we're fair there.”

“Beartic!” Brycen sends out his next Pokemon, and what appears is even bigger than Abomasnow! It's a white polar bear-like Pokemon, standing over eight feet tall, with a small head, but large body, and three jagged spikes of ice extending down from its chin. My Pokedex identifies it as Beartic, an ice-type.

Even though Beartic is a pretty impressive sight, I'm not too worried. Like Abomasnow, I doubt it's very mobile... and unlike Abomasnow, Beartic doesn't have a grass-type to protect it against Marowak's ground-type techniques.

“Marowak!” I shout, “Stay back, and keep hitting it with Bonemerang!”

“Wak!” Marowak responds as he rears back, then tosses his bone at Beartic.

“Frost Breath,” Brycen counter-commands.

As Marowak's club approaches, Beartic takes a deep breath, and then blows out a mix of frost and powerful frigid wind. The force of the wind stops Marowak's club in midair, and blows it back at its thrower, who gets blasted, and covered in frost, steam rising from his entire body. The wind also goes past Marowak and toward me, but Magmortar runs in front of me, and takes the attack, not receiving any visible damage from the attack.

“Whew... thanks, Magmortar,” I say.

“Mag!” Magmortar steps to my side.

“Ma... ro...” Greatly weakened, Marowak slumps to one knee.

“Brine,” Brycen commands.

“Beaaaaar!” Beartic opens its mouth, and sprays a powerful blast of water toward Marowak.

I check my timer: '1:48.' Okay! Time to pull Marowak back! However, just as I'm extending Marowak's Pokeball toward the Bonekeeper, the water attack blasts Marowak, completely drenching him.

“Ro...” With the steam now thicker than before, Marowak crashes to the ground, defeated.

I say, “Good job, Marowak. Take a well-deserved rest now. Return.” I recall the ground-type.

For the first time since the battle began, Brycen speaks in a full sentence, “We both have two Pokemon remaining. Send out your next one, challenger.”

“I do have a name,” I mutter. Anyway, since Absol is my ace against Abomasnow, I'd better hold off on using him for now, which leaves me with one choice. “Okay! You're up, Rufflet!” I send out the Eaglet Pokemon.

“Flet rufflet!”

I manage a smirk. Sure, Rufflet has a type disadvantage, but over the last three weeks, in preparation for this battle, I had the normal/flying-type learn a new technique at a TM lab, to cover for his weakness to ice-types. I didn't think we'd end up using it, but I also didn't think Brycen would have me choose my Pokemon for this battle at random.

“Rufflet! Rock Slide!” I command.

“Ruff!” Rufflet's talons glow dull-gray, and he repeatedly runs them through the ground, flinging small chunks of ice toward Beartic, which normally wouldn't be very effective, but those chunks are infused with rock-type energy, counting it as a rock-type attack, which is powerful against ice-types.

“Again, Brine,” says Brycen.

Beartic sprays out another blast of water, which crashes through the volley of rock-ice flying toward it, smashing the chunks into tiny ice pebbles, inflicting very minor damage to the ice-type. Rufflet shields himself with his wings, causing the attack to drench his wings and legs, but reducing the damage.

It looks like Beartic has the long-range advantage here. Let's see how it does if we close the gap between it and Rufflet. “Okay, now use Brave Bird!” I command.

“Flet!” Rufflet flaps his wings and lifts off the ground, becomes a sky-blue bird silhouette, and then jets toward Beartic.

“Frost Breath,” says Brycen.

Beartic performs another Frost Breath attack, releasing another blast of freezing wind. The blast dispels the flying-type energy covering Rufflet's body, and blows him back toward me. He hits the ground hard, with steam rising from his entire body, but that's not the worst thing that's happening: his legs and wings, previously soaked by the Brine attack, become encased in ice, disabling the Eaglet Pokemon from moving any part of his body, except his head.

Not good! I check my timer to see if enough time has passed for me to recall Rufflet, but only eighteen seconds have passed since I sent him out, and the remainder is enough time for Beartic to finish him off!!

Rufflet glances back at me, but strangely, he doesn't look the least bit concerned. In fact, he almost looks... amused.

“Huh? Rufflet?”

“Rufflet! Ruffleeeeeeeeeet!” Just as I'm convinced Rufflet just lost his mind, his entire body becomes a sky-blue silhouette again... but not because he's using his Brave Bird attack. My eyes widen in surprise and delight as the silhouette starts changing shape.

Rufflet grows to a height of almost five feet, with an even larger wingspan. As his body grows, the ice encasing his wings and legs shatters. The blue light then clears, revealing an eagle-like Pokemon with a red topside, blue underside, a white head, a large beak, and talons looking more dangerous than ever.

“Well, well,” says Alder, smirking.

At a loss for words, I stammer, “Rufflet, you... you finally evolved!”

“Braaaaaaav!” screeches Rufflet's evolved form.

I analyze the new Pokemon with my Pokedex: Braviary, the Valiant Pokemon, a normal/flying-type.

Braviary grins back at me like this is a big joke to him... and maybe it was. I try to look incredulous, but fail miserably, “You... were holding back, just so you could make your grand entrance as Braviary, weren't you?”

Braviary gives me a 'well, you got me,' shrug.

“Hmph. That was unexpected,” says Brycen.

I let out a chuckle, “Haha! Well, alright, you big comedian. We've still got a battle going on here. Let's try Rock Slide again, the Braviary version!”

“Bravi!” responds Braviary, as one of his ample wings glows brown, and he runs it through the ground like a large shovel, flinging several large rock energy-charged chunks of ice at Beartic.

“The result shall remain the same,” says Brycen, “Brine!”

Beartic sprays out another blast of water, which collides with the blocks of ice, but this time, they're so large, all Brine does is break them into smaller chunks, several of which slam into the ice-type, leaving steaming bruises.

“Bearrrrr!” Beartic roars in pain.

“Good one, Braviary!” I say, “Now finish it with anoth--”

“Return!” Brycen recalls Beartic. Figures... “Abomasnow!” Brycen sends Abomasnow out again.

I'd been saving Absol for when Abomasnow made another appearance, but I'm still curious of what power Rufflet had gained since he evolved. Besides, his flying-type has an advantage over Abomasnow's grass-type. Well, I still have Absol to back Braviary up, if he needs it.

Okay, what to do... I consider telling Braviary to keep going with the Rock Slide attacks, but earlier, Abomasnow used a grass-type attack called Wood Hammer, which it can use to counter it, so I don't know how effective that could be. Also, Abomasnow fired a barrage of Ice Shard attacks to keep Marowak at bay. Luckily, Marowak had a long-range attack to counter it, but the only ranged techniques Braviary knows are Rock Slide, and Air Slash, which can be countered by ice-type attacks. Looks like the best way to go is up close, but Brave Bird, as Beartic had proven, is no good against ice-attacks, either... but there is still that technique!

“Ice Beam!” Brycen commands. Abomasnow opens its mouth, and ice-type energy starts to gather.

At the same time, I command, “Tailwind!” Braviary's eyes flash sky-blue, and the air around him starts to move.

The Valiant Pokemon zooms across the arena as a red and blue blur, and it in front of Abomasnow in an instant. The grass/ice-type fires its frozen beam at point-blank, but Braviary leans out of the attack's way.

Now, with Abomasnow wide open, I'm about to tell the normal/flying-type to slash it with Wing Attack, but instead, he acts on his own, with his wings starting to glow a bright reddish-brown color.

“Huh?” I exclaim.

Alder chuckles, “Now that Rufflet has evolved into Braviary, he can now use a powerful fighting-type attack, called Superpower.”

“Nice!” A technique that's powerful against ice-types, rock-types, and steel-types. This covers his weaknesses big time!

Braviary delivers an uppercut with his wing so powerful, Abomasnow is lifted clear off the ground, and slaming into the ceiling.

“All right, Braviary!” I cheer, “Now finish it with Brave Bird!”

“Braaaaaaaav!” Braviary's entire form once again becomes sky-blue, and he flies straight up, as Abomasnow falls down, tearing through the grass/ice-type, which lands in a steaming heap. It looks as down as can be. Brycen recalls Abomasnow.

“That's two down,” says Alder, “So far, so good, Ria.”

Braviary lands in the middle of the arena, wheezing heavily, and barely standing up straight.

“Braviary?” I question.

“He used too many high-energy attacks,” says Alder, “I'd be amazed if he can keep fighting. We might as well call this a faint.”

“Okay,” I respond. I hold out Braviary's Pokeball, “Hey, congratulations on evolving, Braviary, and sorry for pushing you so hard. Still, you did great. We'll leave the rest to Absol, so take it easy for now.”

“Brav,” Braviary nods, with a forced grin.

“Return.” I recall the Valiant Pokemon. I return it to my belt, and grab Absol's Pokeball. Brycen and I are down to one Pokemon now; There's no longer an escape for either of them. Time to finish this!

Brycen and I send out our last Pokemon, “Go! Absol!”

“Beartic!”

Absol and Beartic appear on our respective ends. Luckily, Beartic wasn't recalled too long ago, and it still looks worn down from the Rock Slide attack it took from Braviary, while Absol got a good rest. Still, I'd better stay focused.

“Frost Breath!” commands Brycen.

“Thunderbolt!” I command Absol.

Beartic opens its mouth and fires another blast of cold wind, while Absol's white fur momentarily glows yellow, and he fires a bolt of lightning from the oval on his forehead.

The Thunderbolt attack goes through Beartic's Frost Breath attack, but it greatly diminishes its already-limited power, and all that's left when it passes through is a tiny bolt of electricity that barely fazes the ice-type. Luckily, Frost Breath lost some of its power too, so Absol didn't take much in the way of damage either. Still, Thunderbolt is Absol's only decent long-range attack to battle ice-types with. Once again, I gotta find a way to close the gap, and get this battle up-close and personal. It's time to use Sucker Punch again!

I keep my ears open, and wait for Brycen to give Beartic its next command.

After a few seconds of silence, Brycen utters, “Prot--”

“SP!”

Absol zips across the arena, but Beartic's guard is up, and it blocks the Disaster Pokemon's attack with ease. Oh yeah... Sucker Punch only works if the opponent is about to go on the offensive, otherwise, they can totally defend themselves. Brycen told Beartic to use the defensive move, Protect. With his technique thwarted, Absol staggers back, stunned.

“Did you really think the same tactic would work twice?” asks Brycen, “Beartic! Ice Punch!”

“Arrrrrtic!” Beartic throws an ice energy-infused punch down at Absol, who takes the full force of the attack, embedding him partway into the floor.

“Soooooooool!” Absol cries out. The Focus Sash on his leg glows, giving him just barely enough energy to keep him from being knocked out.

“Oh boy...” says Alder, “Absol could be in trouble here...”

Well, that was kind of a bust... but not completely. Even through Sucker Punch didn't have the desired effect, it did succeed in accomplishing its main objective: getting Absol across the arena and battle Beartic at close quarters.

“One more Ice Punch,” commands Brycen.

“Flamethrower!” I shout.

Beartic throws another icy punch at the downed Absol, who looks up, inhales deeply, and blows flames up at the ice-type. The attack dispels Beartic's Ice Punch attack, and also causes its hand to catch fire, the flames gradually spreading to burn the rest of its body.

“Beart-ti-arti...!” Yelling wildly, Beartic tries to bat out the flames, allowing Absol enough time to get back upright.

As Beartic is spraying itself with its Brine attack, putting out the flames, I say, “Alright, Absol! Let's deliver the final blow! Iron Tail!”

“Soooool!” Absol howls as his tail glows with a silver aura, and he leaps up, performs a front flip, and smashes Beartic over the head with his tail, leaving a steaming bruise. The ice-type is face-planted into the ground, and its body goes limp.

“Return.” With absolutely no reaction in his face or voice reflecting his loss, Brycen recalls Beartic.

As for me, I'm full of reaction, “Way to go, Absol! That was awesome!”

Magmortar gives his two credits as well, “Mag mag!”

“Absooool!” Absol dashes at me, at least as fast as his weakened body can allow, and he leaps up, hugging me, my legs quivering beneath me, as they're still sore from the Power Anklet training.

“Okay, okay, that's enough, Absol! Take a rest! Please!”

Absol lets go of me, and I recall him to his Pokeball.

Brycen walks over to me, and holds out his hand, showing me a white badge, made up of three icicles, “You won. Take the Freeze Badge.”

“You sure don't waste any words,” I say, taking my seventh badge, and pinning it to my vest. All right! Only one more to go!

Brycen stands silent for a few seconds, but then he lets out a loud sneeze, “Ah-choo!”

Alder laughs, “Hahaha! You sure got willpower, Brycen, being able to stand being in this frozen cave 24/7, but you might want to get outside more often. Feel a little heat.”

Brycen, looking embarrassed, and... well, as human-like as I'd ever seen him, responds, “I... shall take that under advisement, Master.”

Alder and I head out of the cave, followed by Magmortar. I recall the Blast Pokemon, when we're back outside and in the heat.

As we walk en route for the Iccirus Pokemon Center, I say, “Whew... Another close battle, another badge.”

Alder grins, “As I said before, the battle for the seventh badge is the make-or-break moment for the big-time. It looks like you 'made' it!”

“I'm glad you were there to witness it,” I say, “I don't think most trainers get the chance for the Champion to personally watch such an important battle.”

“Oh, I watch Gym battle whenever I'm in an area,” says Alder, “You're not the first trainer I'd watched.”

“Anyway, what's that Brycen guy's deal?” I ask, “He's a little... hm...”

“Eccentric?” suggests Alder.

“Yeah.”

Alder lets out a chuckle, “Let's just say he's not exactly a people person. You see, he was once a celebrity, but he eventually got fed up with that, and ran from that scene...”

“Can't say I blame him,” I say, “The media just can't leave celebrities alone... but I don't recall ever hearing about anyone named Brycen.”

“Well, Brycen's not his real name,” says Alder, “He's hiding his identity, with a fake name, mask, and living well outside the public eye. Anyway, I helped him become who he is, teaching him everything I know about Pokemon training. Since then, he's been living alone in that cave, with his Pokemon to keep him company, and working as a Gym Leader to make ends meet. As for everything else he does... well, not even I know what's going through that guy's head...”

“Well, he's quite a character,” I say, “Anyway, I have just one more badge to earn, in Opelucid City, by battling Iris or Drayden.”

“You'll be battling Drayden,” says Alder flatly.

“Huh? What makes you think that? Back in Castelia City, I met Iris, and I was told that Drayden, being the mayor of Opelucid City, is very busy, and doesn't always have time for challengers, so she battles challengers instead.”

“That is mostly true,” says Alder, “However, Drayden has been known to take time out of his schedule to battle seven-badge trainers; any less, and he leaves them to Iris, as he hates holding back in a battle. Let's just say you have your work cut out for you; Drayden is very powerful, and the reason why most trainers don't pick Opelucid as their last Gym.”

“He's really that strong?”

“Pretty much...”

“... Oh well. Bring him on. I'd beaten seven Gym Leaders, and I'm not losing now.”

Alder lets out another one of his hearty laughs, “Hahaha! You sound pretty confident. I like that!”

“I think I have a right to be...” I take a breath, “Anyway, what are you gonna do now, Champ?”

“As I said, I'll probably stay around here for a little while,” Alder answers, “Also, from what I'd seen, your Pokemon right now are Gallade, Magmortar, Braviary, Marowak, Absol, and Minccino, right?”

“... Actually, Minccino's a Cinccino now.”

“Ah! You have Pokemon evolving left and right, don't you? Anyway, that means Braviary is your only flying-type, and seeing as it just evolved, you know that means you can now ride him into the skies, right?”

“The idea occurred to me...”

“Well, now that you have your wings, how about I give you some flying lessons?”

I raise an eyebrow, “You'd do that for me?”

“Yeah. I just ask for one thing in return.”

“... and that is...?”

Alder scratches at the scruff on his chin, “Well... a lot of trainers aren't accepting my challenges, not that I blame 'em; Champion, and all. Because of that, I'm pretty short on money, and I hadn't eaten anything decent for a while. Anyway, I'll walk you through flying if you pay for my supper. How does that sound?”

“Yeah. Alright.”

---

We head back to the Pokemon Center, and I hand in my Pokemon to be healed. Afterward, we go to one of the restaurants on campus, where my finances take a super-effective critical hit, with me ordering food for me and my Pokemon (as well as the two pizzas I promised Braviary. Apparently, evolution hasn't made him any less of a pizza maniac), as well as Alder, who orders an outrageous amount of delicacies.

After we're all well-fed, and I'm several-thousand credits poorer, and the sun is starting to set, the Champ and I head to the center of campus: an open grassy area, surrounded by walkways, where Alder begins my 'flying lesson.'

“Alright, Ria. Since you're obviously a competent enough trainer, I'm sure your Braviary won't object if you want to take a ride on his back, but you should always ask permission anyway. The answer will probably always be yes, but it shows you care. You with me so far?”

“Ask permission,” I say, “Sounds easy enough.”

“Good. Next, you need to specify your destination, and tell him which direction its in. Most flying-type Pokemon have a keen sense of direction, and will know right away which direction you want to fly in. Unova's map is pretty simple, so the directions are easy enough to give, but in other regions, like Johto and Hoenn, locations are a lot more complicated, so it's a good idea to take your Pokemon to the places by foot, so they get a sense of where they are located, and tell them what those places are called. That way, they'll remember those places, and will take you there if you want them to.”

“Okay, I think I get it. It's kinda complicated, but...”

“Ah, don't worry. Unova's a great starting spot, and if you ever travel to new regions, I'm sure you'll pick up on it eventually.”

“So... are we traveling anyplace specific?”

“No. Just tell Braviary to follow me for this flight.”

“Got it.”

“Okay, that's all you need to know for now,” says Alder, “Now, send out Braviary, and do what you've learned.”

“Okay.” Doing as I'm told, I send out Braviary, who appeared from his Pokeball in a bright flash. Meanwhile, Alder sends out his Volcarona.

“Viary?”

“Hey, Braviary,” I say, “Since you've become bigger and stronger, I was kinda wondering if you wouldn't mind flying me places. Um... do you?”

“Bravi,” Braviary gives me a smile, and shakes his head.

“Okay...” As Alder climbs onto Volcarona's back, I do the same, and climb onto Braviary's.

Alder instructs me, “Ride on your hands and knees. It puts less weight on your Pokemon, plus it's a more aerodynamic position, so you won't be blown off.” I do as I'm told. It's kind of awkward and uncomfortable, but I'm not about to question the Champion on it.

I ask Braviary, “Are you feeling okay? I'm not too heavy, am I?”

Alder laughs, “You should check your Pokedex more often. Braviary is strong enough to lift a car. Compared to that, you weight next to nothing... or at least I don't think you do.”

“Ha-ha, very funny,” I say with sneer. Sure enough, though, Braviary doesn't seem to be straining from my weight at all. I should know better than to underestimate his power.

“Alright,” I say, “We're just going for a little test flight, so follow the Volcarona.”

“Brav!” Braviary nods.

Our respective Pokemon flap their wings, and we take to the sky. I watch as Iccirus City grows smaller and small beneath me. In a couple minutes, we're just short of reaching the clouds. It's a pretty amazing feeling, but... oh man... I'm really starting to feel the vertigo...

“I bet you're really starting to feel the vertigo,” says Alder, like he read my mind, “Which brings us to the next part of my lesson: jump off.”

“... What?”

“I said jump off. This is a ritual all Pokemon trainers should undergo when they start flying.”

“Ritual?” I say incredulously. I remember Cheren talking about something similar when he took his first flight with Skyla, but I thought it was just a very extreme practical joke. Now Alder's saying it's a ritual? What gives? “Dude, you're kidding, right?”

“No, I'm not,” answers Alder, “It's the same as that thing were people fall backward, and someone catches them: it's an exercise of trust between you and your Pokemon. Plus, it cures you of acrophobia. It KOs two Pidgies with one Rock Throw.”

I want to protest further, but once again, who am I to argue with the Champion, plus doing so might make me sound like I don't trust Braviary, and that's not true. I take a deep breath, and say, “Okay, Alder. I'll do it.” I mentally add, And if this kills me, I'm so haunting you, Champ!

“Then jump already!” says Alder with a sly grin, adding “And if I'm wrong, and you fall to your death, you can go ahead and haunt me!” Geez, how does he do that?

“Okay, Braviary... I'm counting on you,” I say, “One... two...” I roll off the Valiant Pokemon's back, and start taking a headlong fall, the aerodynamic drag yanking my hat off my head, though I hardly even notice it.

I'm constantly blasted by wind as I fall, and my heart is beating so fast, I feel like it's gonna fail me any second. All the while, I'm mentally telling Braviary to come down and catch me already... but he doesn't come, and the ground rapidly approaches. Man, skydiving wasn't on my list of things to do in my life, but here I am, doing it without a parachute!

Just as the ground is about thirty seconds away from smashing my head like a watermelon, and I'm convinced Braviary has abandoned me to die, I feel two things wrap around the bases of my arms, and I start 'falling sideways.' It doesn't take long for me to realize that I'm not falling at all, but that Braviary's talons are gripping my arms. The Valiant Pokemon throws me upward, and I fall onto his back. Oh man... I felt like I was gonna die for a second there! I'm so happy I went to the little girls' room before doing this!

Braviary ascends, grabbing my hat out of the air with his beak, and passing it back to me. Alder and Volcarona swoop down to our altitude, and the Champion chuckles, “Heh. Braviary was right above you the entire time. Seeing as he held off for so long, I bet this was a joke to him.”

“A... joke?” I raise my voice, “Dammit, Braviary! Don't you ever do that again!”

“Viary!” Braviary glances back at me, grinning wildly, and I suddenly notice, despite my words, that I'm grinning as well. Finally, my true feelings catch up with me, and I start laughing, with Alder joining in. Man, that was scary, but also... kinda fun. Plus, I now know Braviary won't just let me fall. As crazy as it was, I'm kinda happy I did it!

---

About a half-hour passes, as Braviary and I fly around, following Alder and Volcarona. As time goes on, it feels as if I'd been flying my whole life. I gotta admit, it's definitely a thrill; I can see why Skyla practically lives for this kinda thing.

The sun sets and the sky starts getting dark. As we're about to enter Opelucid City's airspace, I glance back, and see a bright golden pillar extending into the sky in the distance.

“Um... Alder? What's that?” I ask, pointing at the pillar.

“Hm?” Alder looks at the pillar, and answers, “I don't know. It looks like an electric-type Pokemon's brand of the Thunder attack, but this one's just lingering. It seems to be coming from somewhere around the northern part of Iccirus City.”

“What?” I inquire. That's roughly the location of where the Dragonspiral Tower lake is located! A thought quickly occurs to me: N told me to go there if the 'signs' show themselves, and this is about as 'sign-ish' as anything that's gone on there. I tap Braviary's back, “Braviary! Take me where that light's coming from! Quick!”

“Bravi!” Braviary makes a swift U-turn, and flies in the direction of the pillar.

Alder and Volcarona soon catch up with us, “Curious, are we? Well, I am too. Let's check that thing out! Let's go, Volcarona!”

“Volcaaaaaa!”

---

The flight to the light takes about fifteen minutes. As we're about halfway there, the light fades. When we reach the location, sure enough, it's the area of the Dragonspiral Tower... which has now risen out of the water!

The tower is about the height of a smaller skyscraper, and its outer wall is covered with some kinda purple metal.

Braviary and Volcarona hover, as Alder and I look at the structure.

“Well, well,” says Alder, “The Dragonspiral Tower. It's been underwater for a long time, but now, it's up and out of the water. Looks like this could be history in the making...”

“Maybe we should check inside,” I say. I look the tower over. There are windows, but they are way too small for a human to squeeze through. It looks like we'll have to force our way in. “Braviary, let's break through the outer wall! Use Superpower!”

“Viary!” Braviary flies toward the tower, with his wings glowing reddish-brown, and he slams the purple metal wall... and there's not even a dent.

“Well, you sure know how to respect ancient ruins,” says Alder, “Still, a fighting-type attack should have punched a hole clean through that steel, unless... Volcarona, use Heat Wave!”

“Voooooool!” Volcarona screeches, as it flies closer to the tower, hovers upright with Alder clinging on tightly, and its wings glow bright red. It rapidly flaps its wings, sending waves of fire into the wall with each beat. After about fifteen seconds, the big moth Pokemon stops its assault on the wall, and nothing seems to have changed.

“Hm... As I thought,” says Alder, “It hasn't melted at all. Attacks powerful against steel-type Pokemon should completely crush or melt metal, but our Pokemon's attacks haven't worked at all. I have have heard of an ancient alloy, purple in color, that's almost completely unbreakable; Looks like that's what we're dealing with. Ah well, no sweat. Let's just go through the front door and climb the thing.”

I feel the soreness in my legs, “Ugh, I was afraid you'd say that...”

We head to the ground, and hop off our respective Pokemon. I recall Braviary, but Alder keeps Volcarona around.

The front door to the tower is wide open, with a bridge to it extending from the pedestal. As Alder and I are about to walk in, we hear voices approaching from inside the tower, “I'd never seen those Pokemon act so aggressive before. Why'd they leave our king alone, and attack us?”

“The tower rose for our king. Surely they wouldn't attack the one meant to enter it.”

Five people emerge from the tower: four Team Plasma guys, and an... ahem... older gentleman, with a bald head and pointed beard, wearing a dark-red robe and tall hat: another Sage, I guess.

“Team Plasma?” says Alder, “I thought you guys were a bunch of thieves, sugarcoating your crimes with 'Pokemon Liberation,' or whatever, but seeing as this ancient tower rose and you're the first ones we've seen here, I can only guess you've had something to do with it. It looks like there's more to you guys than I thought. Care to do some explaining for us?”

The Sage ignores Alder, and looks at me, “Curly brown hair, blue eyes, black vest... Are you Ria?”

“I take it 'Ria' has become a household name within Team Plasma?” I ask.

Ignoring my quip-slash-question, the Sage continues, “Our king seems to have taken a certain interest in you, but to the rest of our great order, you are a corrupting influence. I, Sage Giallo, shall see to it that you learn better than to interfere with our business again.”

“Wow, they didn't even notice me,” whispers Alder, “It sounds like you've gotten yourself into a little trouble with Team Plasma. Have you?”

“Something like that,” I answer.

It looks like we're gonna have a fight on our hands. I consider which Pokemon to send out, and decide on Cinccino, since he hasn't fought since evolving from Minccino. “Go! Cincinno!” I send out the Scarf Pokemon.

“Cin!”

The Team Plasma members send out various Pokemon to counter Alder and me, with 'Sage Giallo's' Pokemon being a massive snake-like Pokemon, about thirty feet long, made up of various shiny metal segments. My Pokedex identifies it as Steelix, a steel/ground-type Pokemon.

“All right, Team Plasma,” says Alder, “Let's...” He extends his arm, “... Fiery Dance!”

As I'm trying to figure out what Alder means, Volcarona's wings start glowing red, and it starts rapidly flying circles around Team Plasma's Pokemon, releasing flames, and surrounding them in a thick pillar of flame within seconds. When the flames clear, all the Pokemon Team Plasma sent out are down... but one is missing: Steelix. I notice a large hole where it once was, and then light vibration from the ground.

Alder and I glance at each other, and, as we come to the same conclusion, we dive to the side, with Cinccino following suit, just as Steelix erupts from out of the ground we were standing on. One of my hands trembles, but I clench it tightly into a fist. No more of that!

The Team Plasma grunts recall their downed Pokemon, and send out replacements.

“Something dodged Volcarona's attack? Not bad...” says Alder, as we get to our feet, “Hey, Ria! You and Cinccino look kinda bored. How about you guys entertain yourselves with Steelix, while Volcarona and I take care of the other guys' Pokemon?”

“Got it!” I say, “Are you ready, Cinccino?”

“Cin!” Cinccino responds, fearlessly staring up at his much larger opponent. What a trooper.

Steelix's teeth radiate black energy, and it snaps down, trying to take a bite out of Cinccino, but the normal-type jumps back, easily dodging the attack.

“Iron Tail!” shouts Sage Giallo. Steelix gets back upright, and tries to slam its tail down at Cinccino, who, proving himself to be much quicker than his opponent, sidesteps the attack, and then leaps up onto the tail.

“Good one!” I say, “Now, Aqua Tail! Full power!”

“Ciiiiiiin!” Cinccino's tail glows blue. He rolls up into a ball and rapidly somersaults along the length of Steelix's body, leaving a trail of water and steam in his wake.

“Steeeeeee!” Steelix screams.

“Now! Wake-Up Slap!”

Cinncino reaches Steelix's head, uncurls, and then, with his tail now reddish-brown, he jumps off the steel/ground-type, twists in midair, so he's facing his opponent face-to-face. Cinccino's body briefly flashes as Technician takes effect, and then he delivers a blow across Steelix's face so powerful, its body lifts an inch off the ground before it comes crashing down.

“Impossible!” shouts Giallo, taking a step back, “How could Steelix have lost to a mere Cincinno?”

“Because of an Aqua Tail-Wake-Up Slap combo, weren't you watching?” I say, “Is that your best, or is there something else you wanna try your luck with?”

“Cino cin cin!” Cinccino adds, clearly looking forward to another opponent.

“Curses!” 'Curses?' Who says that anymore?

Meanwhile, Volcarona takes down the next wave of Team Plasma's Pokemon with as little trouble as the first.

“I think we have a good idea of how this is gonna end,” says Alder, “How about you save your Pokemon some pain, and let us through?”

“Please~?” I add in my sweetest possible voice.

“I suppose we don't have a choice,” says Giallo, “Go ahead, then. Go, and witness the moment Team Plasma achieves its invincibility!”

Alder and I, followed by Cinccino and Volcarona, dash past the Team Plasma members and into the tower. 'Invincibility,' huh? I don't like the sound of that...

As soon as we're clear of Team Plasma, Alder and I recall our respective Pokemon. We enter a shaft made up of spiraling stairs that run along the tower's inner wall, which, unlike the outer wall, is made of stone.. Despite it being nighttime, the place is surprisingly well-lit, and I soon notice way, as embedded in the wall, there are various glowing evolution stones. At the bottom of the shaft, there's water pooled up, where a bunch of hungry Basculin are looking up at us, like they're expecting us to just jump in. The ground is damp, and covered with algae, making it kinda slippery, so Alder and I make our way up the stairs as fast as our footing can allow.

“From what they were saying, you seem to know their 'king,'” says Alder, as we make our way up, “Care to tell me about it?”

“Sure,” I say, “Remember that guy I told you about, who wants to become Champion, and then use that authority to make everyone release their Pokemon? That's their king, and his name is N.”

“Huh. Really?” says Alder, “Well, you seem to know this 'N' guy pretty well for a non-Team Plasma member. Just what's your relationship with him?”

I explain to Alder everything I know about N, since when we first met in Accumula Town to our latest meeting at Spiral Mountain. “... Basically, he seems kinda conflicted, and I guess he sees me as his rival in determining which way is right, though I have to question his definition of the word if he thinks I stand a fair chance of beating him after he gets the help of some godlike Pokemon.”

“That doesn't sound good,” says Alder, “When we ran into them, those Team Plasma guys said this tower rose for their king. There's gotta be something here, and we probably don't want this N character getting a hold of it..”

“I guess the feeling's mutual,” I say.

We eventually reach the top of the shaft, and emerge into a large room, supported by marble pillars, though some of them are toppled over, along with chunks from the ceiling. Another set of spiraling stairs is at the other end of the room, making this place double up as a landing. As soon as we enter, several figures start materializing out of thin air: Three-foot-tall blue humanoid Pokemon, seemingly made of clay, with round bodies, creepy yellow eyes, stones attached to the limbs, and some spiral shape strapped to their chests. More and more keep appearing, until they fill up about 70% of the floor, numbering at about a hundred, and all of them slowly advancing on us, their fists starting to glow a rainbow of various colors!

As I snap a massive group picture with my Pokedex, which I'm sure the Professor will be proud of, Alder explains the very information I was going for as he grabs a Pokeball from his belt, “Golett, the Automaton Pokemon, a ground/ghost-type... I'm not surprised to see some here. After all, they're a common sight in ruins... but unlike the ones I'd seen, they do seem to mind the fact that we're here.”

“Whatever,” I say, “If they're in our way, we gotta break through them!” I grab two Pokeballs from my belt, “Go! Gallade! Magmortar!” I send out the Blade Pokemon and the Blast Pokemon.

“Gallade gall!”

“Mortar!”

“No wonder those Team Plasma guys aren't with their king right now,” says Alder, “I doubt they could have broken through so many of these Pokemon...” He tosses his Pokeball, “Go! Lucario!” Alder sends out a four-foot-tall humanoid Pokemon with a jackal-like head and spikes on its chest and hands. It has a yellow torso, but the rest of its body is evenly blue and black. Having once been a fighting-type buff, I quickly recognize it as Lucario, also known as the Aura Pokemon; a fighting/steel-type, which can use its powerful aura as a weapon that can take on various attack types.

I turn my attention back to the army of Automaton Pokemon. Alder said they're ground/ghost-types. If so, no problem!

“Gallade,” I shout, “break through them with Night Slash and Leaf Blade! Magmortar, wipe them out with Solar Beam!”

“Gall!”

“Mag!”

Alder gives Lucario his commands, “Get in there with Extreme Speed, and use Dark Pulse!”

“Rio!” Blue mist emanates from Lucario's body; its aura.

Gallade dashes into the army of Goletts with his blades blazing, quickly knocking them out one-by-one. At the same time, Magmortar aims one of his cannons at the group, and fires his free Solar Beam, taking down an entire row of them. Gallade KOs a couple more Goletts, and briefly glares at Magmortar, who grins back, having taken out more Goletts at once.

As for Lucario, its aura turns bright white, and it charges into the Golett legion at a blinding speed, passing through the Automation Pokemon until it finds an open area in the group, and stops. At that moment, Lucario's aura then turns black, and just as it looks like it's gonna get bombarded from all sides by various punching attacks, the Aura Pokemon thrusts its arms outward, and it creates a massive dome-shaped explosion of dark-type energy, which sends the ground/ghost-types flying all over the place, clearing out a large section.

I say the exact words that are on my mind, as Lucario took down at least forty Goletts at once, “Holy crap!” Gallade and Magmortar also briefly pause to admire that show of power. The Champion's Pokemon are something else!

It takes little time for Lucario, with a little help from Gallade and Magmortar, to clear out a large enough section in the Golett group for me and Alder to run through. We run across the room to a doorway. Gallade and Lucario take point, while I recall Magmortar, who'd just expended his one free Solar Beam, until his next trip to the Pokemon Center.

The doorway leads to another shaft with a spiraling staircase. There are a few Goletts standing in wait, but not an entire army. Gallade and Lucario knock them out as we run up the stairs.

“This is the first time I'd ever seen Goletts act so aggressively!” says Alder.

“They're not usually like that?” I ask, trying to mentally block out the aching in my thighs.

“Normally, they just wander around, only fighting if they get attacked. However, this is a recently-accessed ruin, so it makes sense.”

“What do you mean?”

“I've heard from archeologists that they'd gotten attacked by Goletts when they first started exploring ruins, but after they'd taken whatever valuables were there, they stopped being so aggressive. That's probably because the Goletts were guarding something, but after that 'something' is gone, they lose their purpose.”

“Dang...” I mutter, “So they just wander around, with nothing left to do? That sucks...”

“At least until a trainer comes along a captures them,” says Alder, “then they get a new purpose. If Team Plasma gets their way, wild Goletts will just wander aimlessly forever. We can't let that happen!”

“Point taken.”

“By the way,” says Alder, changing the subject, “You said before that N invited you here?”

“Basically.”

“Well, those guys outside seemed to have other plans...”

“N did say that not all the Sages agreed with him. I guess not everyone in Team Plasma is on the same page...”

Alder chuckles at the revelation that Team Plasma apparently isn't a very well-oiled machine of an organization.

---

Alder and I rapidly ascend the tower. We run into more hordes of Goletts as we arrive at landings, but with the Champion backing me up, it never becomes an issue. My legs feel like jelly from all the climbing, but I suck it up and don't say anything as to set a good example to my Pokemon.

After yet another landing, the Champ and I make our way up yet another staircase. From a door at the top, we see some kinda bright white light shining out of it, and at the same time, both Gallade and Lucario pause in front of us, with a hand on their foreheads.

“Huh? What's wrong, Gallade?” I ask.

Alder observes, “It looks like they're sensing something pretty potent... and I'm willing to bet it has something to do with that light. We should call them back and investigate, sending out Pokemon less sensitive to energy if we need to.”

“Okay.” I hold out Gallade's Pokeball, “Good work, Gallade. Return!”

Alder holds out Lucario's Pokeball, “You too, Lucario! Return!”

We recall the Blade Pokemon and Aura Pokemon, and head to the room the light is shining from.

The place we emerge into isn't so much a large landing as it is a full-on room. It's not at the bottom of a shaft, though the ceiling is still pretty high. There aren't any Goletts trying to kill us here. Instead, there's a giant crystal statue of a person in full armor and a stylish cape, complete with a spear strapped to his back... or at least of what I can see of the thing as I'm shielding my eyes, as that's where the light is coming from, and standing in front of the shining statue is N, who doesn't even notice me and Alder entering the room. Instead, he's staring at the statue, seemingly awe-stricken.

Suddenly, a bunch of cracks start forming on the statue, and soon, it shatters, dispelling the light and revealing something that was embedded inside: a round white rock, just under the size of a smaller bowling ball, which starts levitating into the air.

The rock rises to about twenty feet off the ground, and suddenly, there's a bright flash, filling my vision with yellowish light. When it clears, the rock isn't there anymore, and floating in its place is a large white creature curled into a fetal position.

The creature uncurls itself, and falls the the floor, landing on its feet, and sending a vibration through the floor. It's a white dragon-like Pokemon, a little over ten feet tall. Its body is almost entirely white, though its has some silver rings around its neck and at the base of its tail, which kinda resembles a plane's turbine, giving it sort of a part-machine look. It has piercing blue eyes and long hair extends from its head. Its arms seem to double up as wings, judging by their appearance, with large white feathers. Overall, this Pokemon sorta looks like a mix between a dragon and an angel.

“Shiiiiiiiiir!” The Pokemon lets out a roar, and a pillar of flame momentarily surrounds it. The air distorts as the surrounding temperature goes up by at least sixty degrees. I also start to feel something in the air. It's kinda hard to describe, but I guess the closest word to what I'm feeling is 'pressure.'

I snap a picture of the Pokemon with my Pokedex, but all that comes up on the result screen is 'NO DATA.' (Part of me should be happy about this result, as one of the reasons Professors give fledgling trainers a Pokedex is for the off-chance they encounter a never-before-seen Pokemon. I bet Professor Juniper will be singing my praises when she gets this photo...)

“What the heck?” I say reflexively to everything I'd just witnessed.

N looks back at me and Alder, “Oh, Ria! I see you made it... Oh, and the Champion too?”

“At your service,” says Alder, “So, you're N, that guy Ria's been telling me about, who wants to take over as Champion, and make people release their Pokemon... and Team Plasma's boss?”

“I am.”

“So, just what the heck is that thing?” I ask, referring to the angel-dragon thing that just appeared.

N smiles creepily, “I think you already know, Ria.”

“... Reshiram?” N did call Reshiram the Vast White Dragon. Well, it's a dragon and it's white, so... yeah.

“Correct.”

“This is that dragon you said he was planning on using?” Alder asks me.

“Indeed,” N answers, spreading his arms, “Can you feel his power?”

'His power?' Is that the 'pressure' in the air?

Reshiram looks down at N, <Human... Are you the one that awoke me?> I hear a very deep masculine voice... well, maybe 'hear' isn't quite the right word. It's more like an uncontrolled thought entering my mind, dominating all my other thoughts, which comes in so loudly, it's almost like I'm hearing it. Not exactly being a psychically adept human, I'd never experienced it before, but is this what's called telepathy? Humans with strong psychic powers had been known to communicate with their psychic-type Pokemon that way (as such, Pokemon communicating in human language really isn't anything new), but the fact that I'm experiencing it must mean this Pokemon's psychic powers are unbelievable!

“I am,” N answers, “My name is N!”

<For what reason have you awoken me, N?>

“Legendary Reshiram, we live in a world where Pokemon are subservient to humans,” N explains, “However, is this what the world was meant to be? With your aid, Legendary Reshiram, I wish to learn the truth; What did Arceus intend when He created this world? Please help me.”

<I sense the strength of your desire,> 'says' Reshiram, <Very well, Hero N. I shall walk by your side.> 'Hero N?' What the heck?

“Thank you.”

“Hey N!” I call out, keeping my uneasiness in check (something I'd been getting very good at lately), “Call me crazy, but I was under this weird impression that you wanted me to challenge you, or something. Well, if I'm right, do you really think this is fair, with you using a Pokemon so strong, I can actually feel its power? Just what did you want with me?”

“I object to your use of the word, 'using,'” says N as he approaches me, “But yes, Ria, I do, and I intend for our battle to be a fair competition.”

“... Okay, I'm waiting for the punchline.”

“Ria, if you truly believe that the world you know is the way things should be; if you truly meant the things you told me a Spiral Mountain, go to Relic Castle and seek Zekrom, the Deep Black Dragon.”

“Huh? Zekrom?” I recall that the legend Reshiram is from is about two dragons. Is Zekrom the other one?

<Zekrom...> says Reshiram, <Perhaps you seek to determine the truth through a contest with my counterpart? Very well, Hero. I await that challenge.>

N looks at Alder, “As for you, Champion, I shall challenge you for your title within a couple days. I suggest you return to the Pokemon League and wait for me, unless you want me to become the new Champion by default.”

Alder just nods in response, “Yeah. Count on it, kid.”

N walks back to Reshiram, “Let us be off!”

“Reshiiiiii!” Reshiram roars. He raises his arms, and a huge fireball, about twelve feet in diameter, appears above the Vast White Dragon. He then swings his arms forward, and the flame flies into the wall, creating a massive hole through the stone... as well as the purple alloy making up the tower's outer wall, which Braviary and Volcarona couldn't break through before!

N climbs onto Reshiram's back, and his turbine-for-a-tail glows to life with bright orange flame, and after a brief charge-up, the Vast White Dragon jets out of the tower and into the night sky, leaving a trail of flame in its wake.

After watch Reshiram fly away, until he's completely out of sight, I glance at Alder, “Um... You can beat that thing, right?”

Alder sighs, “I'll definitely give it my best shot. It'll undoubtedly be my Pokemon's strongest opponent to date... maybe ever, but I won't let that kid destroy what humans and Pokemon have. However, from all I'd observed, he seems more interested in battling you, Ria.”

“Looks that way,” I say, “Well, he told me to go to Relic Castle, and look for Zekrom...” Something occurs to me that I can't believe I didn't catch sooner, “Aw crap! He didn't tell me where Relic Castle is!”

“Don't worry, I know,” says Alder, “It's located off Route 4, but I'm not sure if we're gonna find anything. Those ruins were already discovered and supposedly picked clean of anything of value. If there's a Legendary Pokemon there, I'm sure it wouldn't have gone unnoticed.”

'Route 4?' Aw great, not there again. “Well... it's not like we have much in the way of leads,” I say,
“Maybe it's worth checking out anyway?”

“Maybe you have a point,” says Alder, “Alright, let's go.” He sends out Volcarona.

“'Let's go?' That means you too? But what about going to the Pokemon League and waiting for N?”

“When he gets to the Pokemon League, he's gonna fight the Elite Four. That will take a full day, and the next day he'd battle me. Besides, he has seven badges, so he'll need to fight his last Gym Leader first, so I have some time before I have to go back. Besides, I'd been to Relic Castle before, and I can get us there easily...” Alder puts a hand on Volcarona's back, “That's where Volcarona, formerly Larvesta, and I first met.”

“Voooool!”

“Alright, cool,” I say, as I send out Braviary, “Well, first thing tomorrow, let's...”

“Why not tonight?” asks Alder.

“Huh?”

Alder grins, “The night's still young, and as we discussed before, not all the Team Plasma members are on the same boat as their king. Some of them might try beating us to Zekrom, if it's really at Relic Castle. The sooner where check that place out, the better.”

“Can't argue with that,” I say, “Hey, Braviary? Would you mind taking me for another flight? It looks like we have a long night ahead of us.”

Braviary spreads his wings, “Braaaaav!”

“Alright, Volcarona,” says Alder, “We're gonna be heading to Relic Castle, so fly due south.”

“Vooolca!”

Using an ether Alder has on him, we spray Braviary and Volcarona's wings, relieving them of any soreness that might have gotten from our last flight. Afterward, we fly out of the tower through the hole Reshiram made, and with Alder and Volcarona in the lead, followed by me and Braviary, we fly into the night sky, en route for Relic Castle.

---

Meanwhile, in an unknown location, a member of Team Plasma's Shadow Triad reports to the robed man via Xtransceiver, “... Yes, our king has awakened Reshiram, my master, but that 'Ria' girl was there too, as was the Champion. He told them about Zekrom, and where it's supposedly located.”

“That fool!” snarls the robed man.

“What will you have me do now, master?”

“Just stand by for now. I will handle things from here.”

“Understood.” The transmission ends and the robed man violently slams his Xtransceiver down on a table next to him. He rises from the couch he was sitting on, and considers his next move.

It was necessary to send the boy into the outside world for him to awaken Reshiram, but for it to influence him so much that he wants someone to awaken Zekrom and try to stop him...? Hmph, no matter. Sage Ryoku is already at Relic Castle, gathering purple alloy for Project Genesect. I shall send him to search for Zekrom. I highly doubt the Deep Black Dragon would awaken for an ordinary trainer like 'Ria,' but my plan has come too far for me to leave things to chance. Perhaps it may be time I took matters into my own hands...

TEAM UPDATE:


Got this one done sooner than I thought. I apologize for the time between installments, as, nowadays, I can only manage to get so much written on weekdays, and the weekends are the only times I make any progress to speak of. Still, I have a three-day weekend coming up, so hopefully I'll get quite a bit written then.

I didn't have much inspiration to go on for the Brycen battle, but I thought it still turned out alright.

To me, the characters that stole the show in this installment were Ria's Pokemon. All of them got a chance to fight in some capacity, two of them evolved (I guess it might have been too soon for Minccino, but it's a tad late in the 'game'), and I got to show their individual personalities a bit more.

As always, I hope you liked this installment.

Ha ha, holy crap! This installment was awesome in so many ways =O The battle with Brycen, Reshiram appearing... Best chapter yet, hands down! Keep it up, Valin!

I have to say, this is a good interpretation of why Reshiram decided to join N. The Legendary strikes me as neutral and a knowledge-seeking philosopher.

Even though there isn't a whole lot in the way of light in the nighttime skies above Unova, the almost-full moon still provides so-so illumination. Besides that, the only other lights are the stars, the dim embers that drop from Alder's Volcarona's wings with each flap, and the screen of my Xtransceiver as I report the recent events that went down at the Dragonspiral Tower to Cedric, as per the request he made in Accumula Town.

“It sounds like you had quite an adventure,” says Cedric.

“I guess you could say that,” I say, “Anyway, N told me to go to Relic Castle, and find Zekrom, who I'm convinced is the other dragon from the legend.”

“I doubt your chances of finding anything,” says Cedric, “Relic Castle was discovered awhile ago and thoroughly explored. If there were a Legendary Pokemon there, I highly doubt it would have been overlooked. Nowadays, Relic Castle is the main attraction at the Desert Resort, a place trainers go to train and find new Pokemon, and one of the few places where Goletts, Unown, Sigilyphs, and Larvestas can be found.”

“Great...” I sigh, “First Alder and now you. I'm feeling optimistic...”

“Things might not be as bad as you think,” says Cedric, “Lenora, the Leader of Nacrene Gym, was the head archeologist of the Relic Castle expedition. Could you thoroughly tell me of your findings again? If Dragonspiral Tower and Relic Castle are connected in any way, there might be similarities that might prove helpful.”

“Yeah, alright.” I tell Cedric the long version of my Dragonspiral adventure, starting with the pillar of light Alder and I saw from a distance, seeing the tower completely risen from the lake, the multiple twirling staircases and landings, fighting off aggressive Goletts at every turn, and finally, the shining crystal statue that produced a white rock that turned into Reshiram, “I don't know if any of this might help,” I conclude, “but there you have it.”

“To be honest, I don't know either,” says Cedric, “but hopefully there's something in there that Lenora can work with. I'll call you if I find out anything.”

“Okay. Thanks.” The transmission ends. I turn my attention to Alder, “Hey, Champ? Are we almost there?”

“Only Volcarona knows the answer to that question,” says Alder, “Since it's dark out, I don't have anything to tell us where we are exactly.”

“So... you said you'd been to Relic Castle before?” I ask, trying to find a topic for conversation.

“Yeah, but not for a while,” says Alder.

“What brought you there in the first place?”

“Well, I am a traveling trainer,” says Alder, “Why not go there? Anyway, the last time I was there wasn't long after I started journeying again, after becoming Champion.”

“About that,” I say, “You're the Champion, so why are you journeying anyway? At the very least, I don't think you'd have as much trouble finding battle-willing trainers, if you're short on cash if you stayed at the Pokemon League.”

“True enough,” says Alder with a slight laugh, “The reason I left the Pokemon League, though, was because I felt I had to earn my title.”

“Um... I don't get it,” I say, “You beat the last Champion, so isn't that 'earning your title?'”

“At the time, yes,” Alder answers, “However, let me tell you about the title match. I'm sure you've had your fair share of close battles, Ria, but that one was very, very close. The only reason I won was because Ninetales was so strong and so determined to make our dream a reality. Her time was drawing near, so she really pushed her limits, and won the last phase of the battle. About a month later...” Alder pauses.

“... She... passed away?” I hesitantly guess.

Alder lets out a deep sigh, “Yeah... However, it was because of Ninetales that I managed to earn the title in the first place, but with her gone, I didn't know how deserving I was of the title of Champion anymore, and I knew my journey wasn't over. To remain worthy of the title Ninetales and I fought for, I set out on a training journey to make my other Pokemon more powerful, and find a Pokemon to take over for Ninetales.”

“Vooooool!” Volcarona roars, and starts rocking violently.

“Ah! Sorry!” shouts Alder, holding on tight to Volcarona's back, “Wrong choice of words! You're not just a replacement for Ninetales, Volcarona, honest!”

Heh... I guess even Champions can have the occasional misstep with their Pokemon...

“Anyway,” Alder continues, “I came to the Desert Resort and Relic Castle because I heard of a Pokemon called Larvesta, which evolves into a...” Alder takes a deep breath, “super-powerful, really amazing, near-invincible, godlike, feared-by-Arceus, amazingly strong, worship-worthy, totally badass fire/bug-type Pokemon called Volcarona.”

“Vooooooool!” Volcarona roars, sounding pretty proud of itself. I guess Alder's long list of ego-feeding adjectives did the trick.

Changing the subject, Alder says, “By the way, Ria, I was pretty impressed how you handled yourself back there. You didn't seem scared or anything. In fact, you seemed to be as on top of things as I was.”

“Thanks,” I say, “I'll be honest, I kinda surprised myself. Then again, it's not the first time I'd fought with Team Plasma. I guess the fact that I'm one badge short of Elite Rank also helped. I suppose I just knew I stood a chance.”

I think back to Castelia City, where Cheren, Bianca, and I joined Iris, Burgh, and a handful of other trainers in storming a Team Plasma hideout. There, the Gym Leaders were battling two Sages, and a few grunts. Considering just how powerful the Sages seemed at the time, I'm surprised I was so calm in battling Giallo and his Steelix. Then again, just how powerful are my Pokemon, compared to those of the average Gym Leader at his or her full power?

With my curiosity of where Gym Leaders' power usually ranks at rising, I ask Alder, “Um... Hey, Champ? What's needed to become a Gym Leader?”

“The minimum requirement is seven badges and a proven expertise in a single Pokemon type,” the Champion answers, “That said, a Gym Leader will use his or her strongest Pokemon against seven-badge trainers.”

“I see...” Seven badges... I guess I can consider myself fairly close to their power. Still, I never imagined I could possibly become that powerful... Of course, I also only had one badge when I saw Iris and Burgh battle those Sages...

About a minute later, Volcarona starts to descend, followed by Braviary.

“Looks like we're almost there,” says Alder, “Volcarona, take us right to the castle, in case there's a sandstorm.”

“Volca!”

“Okay,” I say, “Let's go, Braviary.”

“Braaaav!”

---

We land, and Alder and I recall our respective flying Pokemon. There is no sandstorm this time, thank Arceus, and the site we find ourselves at is a place that looks like a giant crater, and at the very bottom, there's a short, but wide structure with a doorway, followed by a staircase leading even further underground. On its roof is some kinda obelisk-shaped thing. Still, the structure looks very small for someplace that has the word 'castle' in its name. Like the Dragonspiral Tower, the outer wall is coated in that near-impenetrable purple metal.

Outside the 'crater' which is clearly a widely dug-out area, there's a pedestal, like the one near the Dragonspiral Tower. If I had to guess, this place was meant to be buried the same way the Dragonspiral Tower was submerged, but it got discovered, probably due to sandstorms uncovering the obelisk on the structure's roof, and someone happening across it.

Alder and I enter the 'castle,' and... well, let's just say the interior justifies the place's name. The stairway at the entrance takes us deep underground, and when we finally emerge into a room, it's like walking into a mansion's lobby, except all the staircases from there on go down, instead of up, kinda like a building in reverse. The place is brightly lit, due to the electric lighting that was installed when this place become an archeological site-slash-trainers' attraction. The ceiling is high up, and the walls are made out of yellow bricks. I notice several indentations in the wall, which might have been where evolution stones were once embedded to provide illumination, but naturally, they've been taken away. Something else I noticed on the wall are murals, which primarily show two dragons. The Dragonspiral Tower had these too, but they didn't mean anything to me at the time, but now that I'm paying attention, one of the dragons looks like Reshiram, and the other one... Zekrom, I guess, which I notice has horns, giving it sort of a devilish appearance, which tell me... what? That N's making me look like the bad guy in this whole 'Pokemon, or no Pokemon' debate? Lastly, this place is a janitor's nightmare, since the floor isn't so much covered with sand; it's made of sand, pretty soft sand too, as my feet are partway sunk into the ground, and it's getting into my shoes.

To be prepared for any possible wild Pokemon ambushes, I send out Marowak, and Alder sends out Lucario again.

I look at the other side of the 'lobby,' and see three stairways. “Well, Champ, you were the one who was here before,” I say, “Which one do we take?”

Alder shrugs, “Your guess is as good as mine. I was just looking for wild Pokemon the last time I was here, so any path was all the same to me...”

“Awesome...” I sigh. I try to think of a way to decide which door to take, when I remember Gallade and Lucario's reactions when Reshiram started awakening at Dragonspiral Tower, and have an idea, “Um... Alder? Do you think Lucario might have a way of sensing where Zekrom is?”

“Lucar?” Lucario glances at me.

“Maybe,” says Alder, “Hey, Lucario? Do you think you might be able to sense the aura of a strong Pokemon that might be here somewhere; an abnormally strong Pokemon?”

“Rio...” Lucario closes its eyes and its aura flares up. One minute passes of Lucario seeming to focus harder and harder, until its aura subsides, and it shakes its head, “Luc...”

“Not a good sign...” says Alder.

“Damn... My hopes are really soaring now...” I mutter, “Still, N said Zekrom is here, so there's gotta be something, no matter what everyone seems to think...”

Alder shrugs, “I don't know, Ria. Has it ever occurred to you that N's information might be outdated? Maybe Zekrom was here, but isn't anymore...”

“I guess that's possible,” I say, “It's just that I don't have anything else to go on right now. For now, maybe we should just look around, and find clues. Even if we don't, maybe Cedric will find something out.”

“I hope so,” says Alder, “because with all the trainers and archeologists that visit this place, I highly doubt there is anything here that remains undiscovered. I'm pretty convinced we're just wasting time by being here.”

Marowak speaks up, “Maro?”

“What's up, Marowak?” I ask.

Pointing with his club, Marowak directs our gaze toward the left door on the other end of the room, where two kids are running out of it, like they're retreating from something. One of the kids a boy in a t-shirt, shorts, and a baseball cap, and the other is a girl in a gray shirt and a thigh-length skirt. Both of them are wearing two Gym badges, which tells me they're trainers (then again, what else could they be if they're here?), but seeing as they look about eleven or twelve, they're probably not from around here, since no Unovian trainer is that young. Lastly, I notice they are missing their Pokeball belts and supply bags, which tells me right off that something bad had happened to them.

The two kids run over to Alder and me, the boy yelling, “Hey! You guys! Help!”

“Hm? What's wrong?” asks Alder.

The girl stammers, “Th-there were these people dressed like knights, and an old man in a robe! They... they had their Pokemon attack ours, then they stole them!”

“Y-yeah!” says the boy, who then looks at me, “Hey, lady! You got seven badges, so I bet you're pretty tough! Can you fight those guys and get our Pokemon back for us?”

The girl looks at Alder, “You look pretty strong too! Please help!” Being foreigners, I guess it makes some sense they don't recognize Alder as the Champion.

I glance at Alder, “'Dressed like knights?' 'And old guy in a robe?' I wonder who they could be...”

Alder smiles, “Yeah, sure thing, kids. Just wait here, and we'll be back with your Pokemon.”

“Thank you so much!” says the girl.

Alder glances at Lucario, “Lucario, stay here with these kids, and protect them if any wild Pokemon decide to attack.”

Lucario nods in response, “Rio!”

Alder grabs another Pokeball from his belt, “Go! Scizor!” Alder tosses the Pokeball, and a Scizor, like the one we saw Burgh use, back when we were chasing down Team Plasma members back in Pinwheel Forest, appears.

“Sciz!”

Alder turns to me, “Alright, let's go, Ria!”

“Yeah!” Alder and I, followed by Marowak and Scizor, dash toward and down the stairway the kids came from.

At the bottom of the stairs, we enter a wide corridor. Unlike the lobby we were just in, it goes straight forward, which is good, since it means less guesswork when trying to figure out where Team Plasma is right now.

As we dash through the hallway, as fast as we can with the soft sand hindering us slightly, Alder says, “I knew we might find some Team Plasma members here, trying to beat us to Zekrom. Still, this could be good. We can get those kids' Pokemon back, and ask them if they found anything in these ruins that might be related to Zekrom.”

“Yeah, good point,” I say, “Huh?” Up ahead, I see two Goletts and a third, very odd-looking flying Pokemon, with a green and black head, surrounded by three yellow wings, and something on the top of its head, appearing to have a third eye.

“Goletts and a Sigilyph, another guardian Pokemon,” says Alder.

“Look alive, Marowak!” I shout, “We've got company!”

“Maro!” Marowak raises his club as we dash toward the guardians.

“There's nothing to worry about,” says Alder, “We don't bother them, and they don't bother us.”

“Huh? What do you...?” The Goletts and Sigilyph only just give us a few seconds of attention, and then just keep wandering around, like our being in their castle is of no consequence. Sure enough, they don't do anything as we pass them.

“Just like the last time I was here,” says Alder, “Like I told you at the Dragonspiral Tower, Ria, they aren't attacking us, because there's nothing for them to protect from intruders, which only convinces me more that there's nothing left to find here.”

“Oh well,” I say, “Regardless of whether there's something here or not, let's just get those kids' Pokemon back from Team Plasma, if only so I can do my good deed for the day...”

---

Fifteen minutes pass, as me, Alder, and our respective Pokemon journey deeper into the underground castle, which only gets more and more stifling as we go. The corridors occasionally twist and turn, and there are even some side doors, but all of them lead to empty rooms. Fortunately, there are no branching off hallways, so at least we're on a straight-forward path.

Finally, walking in the opposite direction toward us are three Team Plasma grunts, one of whom is carrying two supply bags and two kid-sized Pokeball belts, led by an aged man with a bushy mustache, wearing a dark-green robe, marking him as another Sage.

Alder and I come to a stop, and stare down the Sage and Team Plasma grunts. Marowak and Scizor run around and in front of us, striking a battle stance

The Team Plasma guys stop dead in their tracks, and the Sage stammers, “You... you're...”

Putting on my brightest and whitest smile, I sarcastically greet, “Hey, Team Plasma! How's it going? It's great seeing you guys again! Back at the entrance, we met a couple kids, who told us you might be here, and that you have something of theirs that they kinda want back.”

“How dare you!” shouts one of the grunts, “Pokemon are not 'something of anyone's!'”

Ignoring the grunt, Alder says, “We met your friend, Giallo, a few hours ago, back in Iccirus City, and he didn't seem to recognize me, so how about you guys?”

“You're... Unova's Champion!” says the Sage.

“That's right,” says Alder, “I'm the Champion, the most powerful trainer in Unova, plus...” The Champ points at me with his thumb, “... I have this seven-badge trainer backing me up. That said, if you guys wanna start something, go right ahead, but I don't think I need to tell you how it will turn out, so how about saving your Pokemon some pain, and all of us some time, and surrender.”

The Sage hesitates, “I...”

One of the grunts asks the Sage, “What will you have us do, Sage Ryoku?”

'Sage Ryoku' sighs resignedly, “We shall surrender. Attempting to resist will only needlessly harm our companions.” With that response, Marowak and Scizor relax.

“Good call,” says Alder, “Now...” With Alder giving step-by-step instructions, the Team Plasma guys kneel down, place their Pokeballs on the floor, and the grunt with the kids' supply bags and Pokeball belts hand them over to us. I have to admit, with all the action today, Alder winning this confrontation with his title alone is a pretty nice chance of pace.

“Now then...” says Alder, after we get the kids' stuff back, “On to the questions. You guys wouldn't happen to be wandering around this place to find some kinda Legendary Pokemon, would you?”

“Of course,” says Ryoku, “Our research had revealed that Zekrom is held here... or at least it was...”

Alder nods slowly, “'Was,' huh? What led you to the conclusion that Zekrom isn't here?”

Ryoku answers, “We already checked the deepest part of these ruins. All we found were some remains of a crystal statue. It was reported that our king found a similar statue when Reshiram awakened; actually, why am I telling you this? You were there.”

“Yup, we were,” I say, “and inside that statue was a white rock, which turned into N's new pet. So, did you find anything like that here?”

“Were you listening?” says Ryoku, “All that we found were the remains of a statue, nothing more.”

“I see, that's too bad,” says Alder, with a shrug, “Still, no offense, but I don't really trust you guys much, so how about proving you really haven't found anything, and show us all the places where you might be hiding it?” With that, Alder give the Team Plasma guys more step-by-step instructions, having the grunts remove their armored plating and turning their pockets inside out, and has Ryoku open his robe, revealing several pockets, which get emptied one by one. All that's found are a few credit coins and bills, shopping lists, a makeup kit, a bouncy ball, and a picture of the mother of one of the grunts, but nothing resembling the rock Reshiram transformed from. If Team Plasma really did find something deep inside the ruins, they no doubt would have taken it with them. I guess it's a good thing that we found out that this was a wasted trip sooner, rather than later...

“Nothing,” I say.

“... I suppose that's it,” says Alder, “Our business here is done.”

“Champion?” Ryoku calls out.

“Yeah?”

“You were wrong about something,” says the Sage, starting to sneer, “You are not the most powerful trainer in Unova; not anymore. Now that Reshiram has sided with our king, he is invincible. Not only is he the strongest in Unova, but probably even the world! He shall defeat you, and our ultimate goal shall come to fruition. It is inevitable. It will not end with Unova either. Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh... One Champion after another will fall, until Team Plasma's influence is spread across the entire world!”

“We'll see...” says Alder, “No one's ever beaten a Champion with power alone, and a confused little boy like your king will not defeat me easily, you'll see.”

Ryoku chuckles, “I'm sure you believe strongly in the cause you fight for, and you will do your best, but sheer idealism means nothing if you simply aren't strong enough to win.”

“Now, now,” says Alder, “Let's not go making broad assumptions before we even battle. Anyway, we're leaving now, and I don't want you guys following us, and pulling a fast one, so...” Alder raises an arm, “Scizor!”

“Sciz!” Scizor suddenly moves behind the Team Plasma guys, and taps the back of each of their heads with its claws, knocking them out cold. It kinda reminds me of when Burgh's Scizor did something similar in Pinwheel Forest. Talk about deja vu...

I let out a deep sigh, “It looks like someone beat us to Zekrom's rock. Damn...”

“Hey, let's not go losing hope just yet,” says Alder, “I overheard your Xtransceiver chat with Cedric Juniper on our way here, and Lenora was the head archeologist in finding this place's artifacts, right? For all we know, she has it.”

I manage a smile, “Yeah... it's not over yet...”

---

With the kids' stuff in tow, we make our way back to the entrance. As we ascend to a higher floor, suddenly, my Xtransceiver suddenly makes a sequence of beeps I'd rarely heard. It takes me a few seconds to place it, but I finally realize that it's the missed transmission signal. Since there's practically no place in Unova that doesn't have reception, I'd usually answered calls, but with how far underground we were, I guess there's one place.

I get out my communicator, and access a recorded message, hoping it's from Cedric, saying he found something on his end. For once, I'm not disappointed. Cedric appears on the screen, saying, “Ria, where are you? I'd just spoken with Lenora, and... well, she just might have what we're looking for! When you get this message, please come to Nacrene Museum ASAP!”

“It looks like we'd just caught a lucky break,” says Alder, looking at the screen over my shoulder.

“Yeah, it totally looks that way,” I say unable to conceal my grin.

Alder and I ascend a few more floors, and finally make it back to the lobby, where the kids and Lucario are waiting for us.

As soon as we get to the top of the stairway, the boy calls out, “Hey, did you guys...?”

Alder and I hold out their supply bags and Pokeball belts, grinning.

“Yay!” cheers the girl, “You beat those knights up and got our Pokemon back!”

“Not quite,” says Alder, “We were so much tougher, there wasn't even a fight.”

“Awesome!” marvels the boy, “I hope I become a strong as you guys someday!”

I find myself blushing slightly. Wow... I've actually become someone for younger trainers to look up to. I never thought I'd be that kinda person, but... man... Talk about flattering...

“Me too,” says the girl, “But we didn't stand a chance against...”

“Aw, don't let it get you down,” says Alder reassuringly, as we return the bags and belts to the kids.

“Yeah,” I say, “Even I had trouble beating guys like that just a few months ago, and look at me now!”

“I'd say the same,” says Alder, “only in my case, it would have been many years ago...” He smiles warmly, “But how about I help you guys train for a little bit, so your Pokemon become stronger?”

The girl's eyes widen, “You'll do that?”

I say, “Hey, what about...?”

“Oh, you head to Nacrene City without me,” says Alder, “I'll leave that business to you. I'm gonna train with these kids for a little while, and then head straight back to the Pokemon League, and prepare for N's arrival.”

I nod, “Okay. Good luck, Champ!”

“You too, Ria,” says Alder, tossing me an ether bottle, which I catch.

“Oh yeah, there's one more thing,” says Alder.

“Yeah, what's that?” I ask.

“Even with the raised stakes, you are still on a Pokemon journey. Never forget that.”

I nod, “Yeah. Okay.” With that, I recall Marowak and head for the stairs.

Behind me, I hear the boy say, “'Champ?' What did she mean by that, mister?”

Alder laughs, and says, “Well, let's just say you kids are in luck to be training with me!”

As I dash up the stairs, I wonder if Alder will be able to defeat N and, more specifically, Reshiram. I'd like to believe that he can, but the feeling of the Legendary Pokemon's power still hasn't left me, and I can't help but have doubts. Part of me can't help but feel like Zekrom is the best, and maybe even only, chance we've got.

As soon as I'm outside, I send out Braviary, spray his wings with the ether Alder gave me, and say, “Braviary, would you mind taking me to Nacrene Museum?”

Braviary nods, “Brav!”

I hop on the Valiant Pokemon's back, and say, “Alright! You've been to Nacrene City before. Head due southeast!”

“Viaaaaary!” Braviary caws as he spreads his wings, and takes to the sky with me in tow.

---

Even though the night is pitch-black, Braviary doesn't seem lost in the slightest. Of course, this is because of his ability, Keen Eye, which ensures that the only thing that can possibly obstruct his vision is a wall. Other than that, he can see through things like fog and, of course, darkness.

Several minutes after we leave Relic Castle, and are en route to Nacrene City, my Xtransceiver beeps. I answer, and Cedric appears on the screen, “Ria?”

“Hey, Cedric,” I say, “I got your message. I'm flying to Nacrene City right n--”

“Listen, I don't have a lot of time,” Cedric cuts in, sounding a tad frantic, “Is the Champion still with you?”

“No,” I answer, “He stayed behind at Relic Castle. If you need to talk to him, I can turn around, and...”

“How long ago did you leave?” asks Cedric.

“I dunno... fifteen minutes, I guess?” I'm getting very curious about where this is going.

“Don't worry about it then. We need help sooner, rather than later.”

“Help?” I question, “With what?”

“Ria, Team Plasma is attacking the museum.”

“Huh?”

“There's a dark stone at the museum, taken from Relic Castle, which, based on the information you provided about the Dragonspiral Tower and Reshiram, we'd concluded might be Zekrom. However, it seems Team Plasma has reached a similar conclusion, and they're trying to steal it. We're trying to hold them back, but we need help!”

“Okay, got it,” I say, “I'll get there as fast as I can!”

“Please hurry!” The transmission ends.

Sigh... No rest for the weary, is there? Anyway, if Team Plasma gets Zekrom's stone, we're as good as screwed, so I gotta get to Nacrene Museum, pronto! Luckily, Braviary has just the move for that kind of occasion. With that thought in mind, I tighten the strap on my supply bag, unbuckle my Pokeball belt, stuff it in my bag, along with my hat, and zip it shut.

I take a deep breath, lay on my stomach, loosely wrap my arms around Braviary's neck, but keep my arms rigid, and give my crazy command, “Braviary! Use Tailwind!”

Braviary glances back at me with a question look, “Brav?”

“Yes, I know it's crazy,” I say, “but just do it!”

Braviary's eyes glow sky-blue, and he goes back to looking ahead. With escalating wind around us, Braviary suddenly takes off like a jet, the sudden G-force almost throwing me off. From there, my arms are around Braviary's neck, while the rest of my body is in the air.

Oh Arceus! I knew it was probably dangerous to ask Braviary to use Tailwind while I'm a passenger, but screw it. This is better than Team Plasma getting their hands on Zekrom!

---

Ten very long minutes pass of my clinging to Braviary, one loosened grip away from being blown off his back and hurled into oblivion. Somehow, I survive that, and Braviary dives into Nacrene City, maneuvering around buildings, finally slowing down as we approach the museum, and come to a surprisingly smooth landing. I drop off Braviary's back, my heart beating super-fast. Man, I hope I never have to do that again! Still we made it in record time.

I pull my Pokeball belt out of my supply bag, and buckle it back on. I hold out Braviary's Pokeball toward the Valiant Pokemon, “Good job, Braviary. Take a good rest for now.”

Braviary nods, “Viary.”

I dash up the museum's front stairs, and toward the double doors, which swing open, and Cedric steps out.

“Cedric!”

“You finally made it, Ria,” says the senior Professor Juniper, “You're a lot earlier than I thought you'd be.”

“Well, let's just say I pulled one crazy stunt to get here as soon as I could. I wouldn't want to arrive after Team Plasma makes off with Zekrom, after all. How do things look in there?”

Cedric says, “I'll explain as we go.” The two of us enter the museum and dash through the marble corridors, toward the exhibit room, as Cedric explains, “There are seven Team Plasma members, including an older man in a robe...”

“Another Sage...” I mutter. Great. My third Sage in one night...

“Fortunately, Lenora had four challengers when Team Plasma arrived, all Super Ranked trainers, so they're doing well in battling the grunts. It's Lenora that needs help, since as we speak, she's trying to keep that robed man from taking the stone we believe to be Zekrom.”

“The Gym Leader is the one that needs help?” I ask, “That's... a tad unexpected...”

“The robed man was clearly prepared for Lenora, as he brought Pokemon with major advantages over normal-types. Right now, Lenora is stalling their battle the best she can, giving you time to help out.”

“Okay,” I say, “Leave this to me!” I dash ahead, the sounds of battle getting louder and louder as I approach.

I arrive at the exhibit room, and it's mayhem in there. All over the place, Pokemon are fighting, and the exhibits aren't getting a whole lot of respect as a result. The big Dragonite skeleton is now a spread-out heap of bones, most of the display cases are knocked to the ground, and there are shards of glass all over the floor, probably because of the shattered skylight, which, if I had to guess, is where Team Plasma made their entrance.

As I was told, there are six Team Plasma grunts. As for their opponents, there are about four trainers, two with four badges pinned to their clothes, one with three, and one with five. Talk about being in the wrong place at the right time... or would that be the right place at the wrong time? Either way, it's a good thing they're here. They may be outnumbered, but they're seasoned enough trainers that their Pokemon are holding their own, so it doesn't look like I have to worry too much about them.

I scan the room for Lenora, and find her battling a man in a robe and tall hat, with a goatee and pointy eyes, both of them having two Pokemon sent out. Behind Lenora, in a toppled-over broken glass case is a round black stone. I actually remember looking at it back during my first trip to the museum, only to be told that it was just something displayed there for the heck of it, since not a whole lot was known about it, at least at the time, but looking at it now, it's the same size and general appearance as the stone that transformed into Reshiram, only a different color; It's Zekrom! It's gotta be! To think it's been practically under my nose the entire time. Sigh... if only my long-term memory were better...

Before rushing into the bedlam, I get out my Pokedex, and analyze the Pokemon being used by Lenora and the Sage. Both of Lenora's Pokemon are dog-like, with one being four feet long, brown and tan-colored, with a large mustache and blue underside, called Stoutland, while the other is a four and a half feet tall, purple in color, bipedal, and with a large lower jaw, called Granbull. I don't need any further analysis regarding Lenora's Pokemon, seeing as she's a normal-type specialist.

As for the Sage's Pokemon, one is a hulking Pokemon, standing at nearly nine feet, mostly covered in black armor, a head resembling a silver helmet, and a long thick tail, while the other Pokemon is a lot smaller and slighter, almost comically so, compared to its partner, at a height of four and a half feet, humanoid, wearing a purple tunic, and has boxing gloves for hands. My Pokedex identifies them as Aggron, a steel/rock-type, and Hitmonchan, a fighting-type, respectively. Yeah, both have a good type advantage over Lenora's Pokemon, and needless to say, both of the Gym Leader's Pokemon look like they're feeling under the weather.

I also notice a fifth result, in edition to Lenora and the Sage's Pokemon: 'Ability: Heavy Metal.' Giving it a quick look-over, I find out the the Sage's Aggron is actually bigger and bulkier than most Aggrons, due to its Heavy Metal ability, which ultimately makes it super-heavy.

Now with a good idea of what I'm up against, I send out Gallade and Magmortar. “Alright, you guys!” I say, “I know we've seen a lot of action today, but it's not over yet. Are you still ready to kick some serious butt?”

“Gall.” Gallade, with a nod of his head, gives a neutral response.

“Mag mag!” Magmortar, smiling wildly, gives a super-enthused response.

“Okay, let's go!” I say, and the three of us run into the room, past the other battles going on, and toward Lenora and the Sage. “Heeeeey!” I call out, grabbing their attention.

“Ria!” says Lenora, “Thank goodness you're here so soon!”

The Sage's face darkens, “Ria...”

“Hey there,” I say to the Sage, coming to a stop, with Gallade and Magmortar coming up to either side of me, “It seems Team Plasma and I have been running into each other a lot tonight. We really gotta stop meeting like this. Seriously.”

“Seven badges...” says Lenora to me, “You've really been busy since our battle, haven't you? That said, do you think you can handle him?” She gestures toward the Sage, “As for me, I'll make sure no one else gets the stone.”

“No problem,” I say. Lenora, with Stoutland and Granbull position themselves closer to the black stone, and I turn my attention back to the Sage, as Aggron and Hitmonchan take their positions in front of him, “Well, Sage guy, let's see how you do against a non-normal-type specialist.”

The Sage glares at me, “My name is not 'Sage guy,' you insolent little girl! I am known as Gorm, of the Seven Sages!”

“Well then, 'Gorm, of the Seven Sages,'” I say, “Are you aware that your king, N, wanted me to find Zekrom? Seeing as you're trying to beat me to it, and take it for yourself, isn't that treason?”

“Not at all,” says Gorm flatly, “The Seven Sages are allowed to do as they deem necessary, if they feel it's in the best interest of Team Plasma or Pokemon Liberation.”

“... Dude, that's one messed up rule...”

“It may be our king's desire for you to obtain the stone, but the Sages feel that as long as Zekrom, the only Pokemon that can match Reshiram, is out in the world, we remain vulnerable, so I am here to rectify the situation by taking the stone, thereby denying anyone the Deep Black Dragon's aid.”

“I have another idea,” I say, “I take the stone instead, and you guys run off crying. We totally beat your pal, Giallo, and now it's your turn!”

“Don't get cocky, girl!” says Gorm, “Don't think all us Sages are that weak. At any rate, even if our king favors you, you are a growing threat to the rest of us, and it's time that changed!” The Sage extends his arm straight at me, “Hitmonchan! Punish this fool! Mach Punch!”

“Monchan!” Hitmonchan rears back its fist, and then, all in a split-second, it dashes across the floor, leaps at me, and throws a punch toward my forehead faster than my reflexes can allow me to react... but not faster than Gallade's, as he steps in front of me, and raises his arm to block the fighting-type's attack.

“Hitmo?” Hitmonchan exclaims, startled.

“Llade!” Gallade's other arm glows pink, and his elbow blades extend. The Blade Pokemon then slashes Hitmonchan, delivering a Psycho Cut attack at point-blank range. The fighting-type is sent flying, and with a steaming gash across its body, it slams into glass case, shattering it, as well as an urn inside, causing ashes to spill out. Oh crap...

I grin at Gorm, “... You were saying?”

“This isn't all I've got!” says Gorm, recalling Hitmonchan, and pulling another Pokeball out of his robe. Looks like he has more Pokemon on him than most of the Sages I'd met so far. Then again, I guess he came here expecting to be resisted by a Gym Leader, and needed all the power he could get. He sends out his next Pokemon, “Metagross!” The Pokemon that appears is another big one, standing at a height of five feet, completely covered in blue steel, with four legs and a cross shape on its face. It kinda makes me think of a quadrupedal tank. I analyze it with my Pokedex, expecting it to be a steel-type, since it looks like one, and it is, but it's also a psychic-type, apparently.

Aggron, a steel/rock-type and Metagross, a steel/psychic-type... Whatever. Both Gallade and Magmortar have type advantages over both of them.

“Ignore the Pokemon!” orders Gorm, “Attack the girl!”

“Grooooon!”

“Metaaaaaa!”

What the...? He wants his Pokemon to attack me directly?

A ball of psychic energy appears at the center of Metagross's face, and it fires it straight at me. At that moment, however, Gallade and Magmortar leap in front of me, both of them taking a portion of the attack. They get pushed back about a foot, but neither of them seem to have taken too much damage.

The Blade and Blast Pokemon glance back at me, and give me reassuring nods, like they're telling me they'll do everything they can to keep me safe. Well, they have been made powerful under my guidance, and they'd had many great battles because of me, plus we've generally had good times. I guess the least they feel they can do in return is make sure no harm comes to me. I recall that this is part of the reason I chose to be a trainer, but since then, I'd learned to stand strong, no matter the circumstances, and have complete faith in them, not cower behind them. Yeah, I know my Pokemon are strong, and I have nothing to be afraid of!

With a smirk on my face, as if Gorm's attempt on my life amuses me, I say in an authoritative voice that surprises even me, “Let's take them down, you guys! Gallade, Aggron is all yours! Use Close Combat! Magmortar, your target is Metagross! Use Flamethrower!”

“Gall!”

“Mag!” Gallade leaps toward Aggron, while Magmortar approaches Metagross with a cannon extended.

As Gallade closes in on Aggron's midsection, the steel/rock-type takes a swipe at him, it claws leaving silver streaks in its wake, but the Blade Pokemon manages to get under the attack and inside his opponent's defenses, delivering a flurry of slashes with his blades, each one leaving a flaming scar. At the same time, Magmortar sends a stream of fire at Metagross.

“Metagross! Light Screen!” orders Gorm.

“Taaaa!” A psychic wall forms in front of Metagross,which Magmortar's flames only succeed in scorching, but not the steel/psychic-type itself. At the same time, Gallade finishes his attack, and leaps away from Aggron, which stands stunned, and looks like it will come crashing down any moment. Instead, the steel/psychic-type springs back to life, and performs a quick spin, slamming Gallade with its tail.

“Zen Headbutt!” Gorm commands.

The cross on Metagross's head glows pink, and it leaps toward Magmortar, slamming him.

Gallade and Magmortar are sent staggering back toward me. Dang... These Pokemon are pretty tough. Even with a critical weakness to fighting-type attacks, it looks like it will take a bit more to take Aggron down, seeing as it's an ultra-heavyweight, due to its Heavy Metal ability. As for Metagross, I know what kinda move Light Screen is: it's a defensive technique that creates a barrier around the user, protecting it from energy-based attacks.

With Gallade, Magmortar, and me bunched together, Gorm yells, “Aggron! Crush those fools! Heavy Slam!”

“Gron!” Aggron jumps almost twenty feet into the air, and then rockets down toward us with all its weight. I dive out of the way, as do Gallade and Magmortar, as we barely avoid getting squashed under Aggron's 1,000+ pounds.

The floor shakes violently, and cracks form in the floor underneath Aggron, which spread outward. I remember that the arena Lenora uses for Gym battles is right beneath the exhibit room, which means...

The ground me, Gorm, and our respective Pokemon are standing on caves in, and then breaks, dropping us into the room underneath, the solid marble floor at least forty feet below. Gallade grabs me in mid-fall, protecting me from a situation where a broken leg would have been the best-case scenario. However, Metagross prevents Gorm from a similar situation, using some kinda psychokinesis to have him float harmlessly down. Despite the long drop to a solid floor, Magmortar and Aggron are fine, like it was no big deal. I recall that this room doubles up as a library, with bookcases that sink into the floor, but those aren't around, probably, as Cedric said, Lenora had challengers when Team Plasma arrived, so I guess a battle was in progress.

I give the room a quick look-over, noticing that the marble pillar closest to where we fell through had broken in two. Geez... that attack from Aggron really was powerful. Glad we didn't get directly caught by it...

Gorm and I take a few seconds to collect ourselves after that unexpected fall, but soon, we get back to business, both teams backing away a few steps, putting distance between us.

Gallade and Magmortar assume battle stances, while I look at Aggron and Metagross. I consider the current situation, and a plan comes to mind. “Alright, guys,” I say, “Switch partners! Gallade! Use Brick Break! Magmortar! Use Focus Blast!”

“Gallade gall!”

“Mort!”

Gallade switches his attention toward Metagross, while Magmortar focuses on Aggron.

“Aggron! Stone Edge!” Gorm commands.

“Agg!” Aggron's claws glow dull-gray, and it charges at Magmortar, while the Blast Pokemon aims his cannon straight at the steel/rock-type, a ball of reddish-brown energy starting to form and grow. The distance between them gradually closes, until Aggron is rearing back to strike with its claws, but at the same time, Magmortar fires his Focus Blast, an energy-based fighting-type attack right into the center of his opponent's body. Aggron roars in pain as it staggers back, reddish-brown flames erupting from where he was blasted. As I thought, Aggron's armor protects it well from physical attacks, but its resistance to energy attacks are a different matter.

At the same time, Metagross, with surprising agility, swings one of its legs at Gallade, but the Blade Pokemon blocks the attack with one of his blades, and then, with the other glowing-reddish brown, slashes Metagross, and its shield, shattering it. Brick Break, besides being a strong fighting-type attack, can also dispel barrier moves like Light Screen, and its physical counterpart, Reflect.

With both enemy Pokemon stunned, I say, “Now, switch opponents again! Gallade! Close Combat! Magmortar! Flamethrower!”

Gallade jumps toward Aggron, and practically dances around it, delivering a countless amount of slashes, while Magmortar blasts Metagross with a powerful stream of flames. Metagross, with a mix of smoke and steam rising from its body, collapses, and Gorm recalls it.

Gallade finishes his attack, and jumps away from Aggron. Again, it's stunned, but doesn't make a surprise recovery. It's on the ropes... Now to finish it!

“Now for the finishing blow!” I say, “Gallade! Brick Break! Magmortar! Fire Punch!”

“Gall!” Gallade's blades glow reddish-brown.

“Mag!” Magmortar's flaming fist emerges from his cannon.

Both of my Pokemon charge at Aggron. Magmortar jumps up, and delivers a flaming punch to the side of Aggron's head, while Gallade cuts through it with two powerful slashes.

“Groooooon!” With a loud yell, Aggron comes crashing to the ground, and gets recalled by Gorm.

Gorm glowers at me, “You... you...”

I smile as sweetly as I can, “So, Sage guy, got anymore Pokemon? If so, bring it!”

“Of course I do!” growls Gorm, clearly having experienced happier days, “You have become too dangerous to be left alone. I'll finish you yet!”

“'Too dangerous?'” I say in mock surprise, “Gee whiz! Thanks for the compliment.”

“Llade!”

“Magmort!” Gallade and Magmortar say, understandably sounding proud of themselves. After all, if Gorm considers me too dangerous, then by proxy, they're too dangerous too, in the best possible way. Still, with more Pokemon on their way, they assume battle stances once again.

Gorm pulls two more Pokeballs out of his robe and tosses them, “Feraligatr! Gengar!” One of the Pokemon that appears is a large blue alligator-like Pokemon, and the other is... I dunno; Its body doubles as its head, with glowing red eyes, a permanent smirk, arms, legs, a tail, pointy ears, and a somewhat spiny backside. My Pokedex identifies the alligator-like thing as Feraligatr, a water-type, and the weird thing as Gengar, a ghost/poison-type. Hm... Talk about lucky on Gorm's part; Feraligatr has a type advantage over Magmortar, and Gengar's ghost-type has an edge over Gallade.

Of course, Gorm is aware of his advantage over Gallade and Magmortar, “Feraligatr, attack Magmortar! Gengar, attack Gallade. Both of you have the upper hand. Tear through them, and annihilate the girl!”

“Feraal!”

“Gar!”

“Feraligatr, Hydro Pump! Gengar, Shadow Ball!”

Feraligatr leans back, getting ready to spray a powerful blast of water, while Gengar extends its arms toward Gallade, and a dark-purple ball of ghost-type energy starts to form and grow.

I counter-command, “Magmortar, hold your ground and counterattack with Thunderbolt! Gallade, use Shadow Sneak!”

Feraligatr fires a powerful blast of water at Magmortar, who, as instructed, doesn't try to dodge, and instead aims is cannon at the approaching blast, and fires an electric bolt into it. Meanwhile, Gengar throws its ball at Gallade, but before the attack can connect, the Blade Pokemon suddenly vanishes from where he was standing with a blur, and reappears behind the poison/ghost-type with his blades glowing dark-purple.

Electricity surges through Feraligatr's water stream, and to the water-type, frying it from the inside. The Hydro Pump attack also hits Magmortar, severely weakening him, of course, but he's still in fighting shape, due to the past three week of training, rain or shine, with days of the former slightly heightening his tolerance to water-type attacks. As Feraligatr collapses, steaming pouring out of its mouth, Gallade slashes Gengar from behind, sending it staggering forward with a steaming gash across its back. Shadow Sneak is a ghost-type attack meant to cover Gallade's weakness to ghost-types, where he catches them off-guard, and then delivering a powerful blow. The Blade Pokemon follows up his technique with a Psycho Cut, launching a psychic blade at Gengar's back before it can recover, knocking it out.

“N-no!” shouts Gorm as he recalls Feraligatr and Gengar.

“Let me guess,” I say, “Your sixth Pokemon is the one you flew in on, and if we knock that one out, you have no escape. I think you're outta luck, Sage guy.”

“Damn you...” growls Gorm, clearly wishing death on me... not that he can follow through with it anymore.

From the hole above us, Lenora calls down, “Well fought, Ria! We're cleaning up here too! This battle is won!”

From somewhere from the upper floor, one of the grunts cries out, “Sage Gorm! We're outta Pokemon that can fight! What will you have us do?”

“We have no choice! Retreat!” orders Gorm, giving me a hateful glare. He sends out a vulture-like Pokemon my Pokedex identifies at Mandibuzz, with black wings, a tan body, and a pink head, wearing 'hair ornament' and 'skirt,' both made of bone. The Mandibuzz takes flight, and Gorm grabs its leg and gets carried upward through the hole in the ceiling, and then through the skylight above that, followed by the grunts, riding flying Pokemon of their own, and into a helicopter hovering above the museum, which flies off.

Since Team Plasma has left, and thus, I have no pressing need to send out Braviary and get carried back up to the exhibit room, I recall Gallade and Magmortar, rush out of the arena, and through the hallway back to the exhibit room, passing the other trainers along the way. Obviously, after all that, I doubt they'd wanna continue their Gym challenge, at least for tonight, and neither would Lenora.

I return to the exhibit room, where Lenora, he husband, Hawes, and Cedric are, scoping out the damage the rumble with Team Plasma caused, with countless destroyed exhibits, a large hole in the floor, and a shattered skylight. Hawes sighs and says, “The restoration team will never believe this...”

I glance around at the ruined museum room, and pause briefly at the sight of a knocked-over statue made of crystal. It looks almost exactly like the one I saw at the Dragonspiral Tower, with the armor and cape, only this one, instead of having a spear strapped to its back, is holding a sword aloft; Whoever this statue is supposed to represent, I guess he likes to show off more than his counterpart. On closer inspection, I notice it's super-glued together at the midsection, which I can only assume is where the black stone was, before it was removed.

Cedric is the first to notice that I entered the room, and says, “Thank you so much for your help, Ria.”

“No prob,” I say, shrugging, “I guess Arceus felt I didn't have enough excitement for one night...”

Looking around at the trashed exhibits, Lenora says, “It's going to take some doing to repair all of this, but yes, thank you for driving Team Plasma away. This museum owes you once again.”

“I never thought a Gym Leader would need my help,” I say.

Lenora smiles sheepishly, “Well, I became a Gym Leader with the minimum requirement. With over fifty Pokemon to train for various levels of Gym battles, I haven't had too much time to strengthen my main team, so at this point, I'd say you and I are equal as trainers, only you aren't confined to one type.”

“Cool,” I say, “Anyway, the original reason I was headed here was because of the black rock that might be Zekrom, so would you mind if I checked it out?”

“Sure,” says Lenora, gesturing toward the black stone.

I walk over to it and kneel next to it. So this is Zekrom, huh? Well, it doesn't look like it's about to hover into the air and turn into a big scary dragon anytime soon, which gets me wondering how N did it. With not a lot of ideas, I rap my knuckles on the stone, and say, feeling a little stupid for talking to a rock, “Um... Hey there, Zekrom. My name is Ria, how are you doing? Are you sleeping soundly? Er... anyway, I'd like you to wake up for a little while. You see, your... counterpart, Reshiram is now out and about, assisting this guy who wants to make trainers release all their Pokemon, which could mean the end of the human race in the long run, and as far as I can tell, you are the only one who can stop him, so could you please wake up and help us out, Zekrom, buddy?”

Unsurprisingly, I don't even get a telepathic message in response.

I glance back at Lenora, Cedric, and Hawes, “Um... do any of you have any idea how to wake up Zekrom?”

Lenora shakes her head, “I haven't the foggiest. We only just learned about the true nature of that stone today.”

“Yeah, true...” I sigh.

After a few seconds of silence, Cedric chimes in, “There might be someone who does know...”

“Cool,” I say, “Who?”

“Drayden,” Cedric answers, “The mayor and Gym Leader of Opelucid City.”

“Of course!” exclaims Hawes, “He's very well-versed in Unovian lore. If anyone knows, he does.”

“Niceness!” I exclaim, “Well, Opelucid City was my next stop anyway, so it works out perfectly.” I pause for a second, “Um... would you guys mind if I take this rock with me?”

“Go right ahead. Take it,” says Lenora, “It could be our hope, after all. Besides, since it was Team Plasma's target, leaving it here would only mean another attack.”

“So you're unloading it onto me? Geez, thanks...” I say sarcastically, “But whatever, I guess that works out too. First thing tomorrow, I'm heading to Opelucid City.” I put the stone in my supply bag, and its strap digs into the place where my neck meets my shoulder as it becomes five pounds heavier. Hopefully, this thing will turn into Zekrom tomorrow, and be able to haul itself around...

---

In an unknown location, a Shadow Triad member reports to the robed man via Xtransceiver, “... Sage Gorm was well-prepared for an encounter with the Nacrene Gym Leader, but Ria's arrival changed everything, and our forces were driven away. She now has the stone.”

“I see,” says the robed man, “The assault on the museum was bad timing on our part. Things might have gone differently if we had taken our time, but since our enemies were well in the process of making the same discovery we did, we only had a few members who could mobilize under such short notice.”

“What now?” asks the Shadow Triad member.

“Keep up your surveillance,” orders the robed man, “Keep track of Ria's movements.”

“What about the stone?”

“I shall address that issue personally.”

---

Now with the 'Zekrock,' as I like to nickname Zekrom's stone, in tow, I head to the Nacrene Pokemon Center, heal my Pokemon, and finally get some well-deserved shut-eye... and apparently, I was worn down more than I thought, or maybe it was just getting to bed late, but either way, I end up sleeping in until noon the next day.

After getting a quick brunch, I hop on Braviary's back and fly due north, en route to Opelucid City, and it's a good day for flying too; a gentle breeze, clear blue skies, lots of sun. What a nice day to follow up such a hectic night.

As I fly, I wonder about something Gorm said yesterday. I didn't think too much of it at the time; I just thought it sounded dumb, but now that I'd gotten some sleep, and am thinking a little bit clearer, it's now got me wondering: 'The Seven Sages are allowed to do as they deem necessary, if they feel it's in the best interest of Team Plasma or Pokemon Liberation.' Gorm and the other Team Plasma guys were at the museum yesterday to steal the Zekrock, even though it goes against what I'm pretty sure N wants, so if the Sages believe, or at least claim, that it's in the best interest of Team Plasma or Pokemon Liberation, they're even allowed to go behind their king's back?

From what I'd gathered, N, the king, is at the top of Team Plasma's hierarchy, then the Seven Sages are right below him (speaking of which, of the Sages I'd met, there's Ghetsis, then the two in Castelia City, Bronius and Rood, the one in the Cold Storage Dome, Zinzolin, and then the three from last night, Giallo, Ryoku, and Gorm. I guess this means I'd just been introduced to all seven of them), and then the grunts are below the Sages. Even if the Sages are just one level lower than N, that's still a heck of a lot of freedom to give mere followers... in fact, if the Sages can just go around, doing as they please, why the heck do they need a king anyway?

My train of thought is derailed as Braviary and I pass over Nimbasa City and my Xtransceiver starts beeping. I answer it, and Bianca appears on the screen, “Hey! Ria!”

“Hey there, Bianca,” I say, “How goes it?”

“Great news!” Bianca exclaims, “I just beat Elesa, and got the Bolt Badge! I'm now a seven-badge trainer!”

“Likewise,” I say, “Yesterday, I beat Brycen, and got the Freeze Badge. Just the Legend Badge to go.”

“Awww!” exclaims Bianca, “I was hoping I'd get my seventh badge before you...”

“Well, it's not like it's a race...” I say, Though I have to admit that I've sometimes thought of it as a race, I think to myself.

“Oh well,” says Bianca, “The reason I'm calling is about that battle you asked about when we parted ways in Mistralton City. Since I have one more badge to win, I thought it would be good to have a six-on-six match against you. I'm actually in Iccirus City right now. I was hoping to surprise you, but I couldn't find you at the Pokemon Center.”

“Oh yeah,” I say, “I was in Nacrene City last night.”

“Nacrene City? What were you doing all the way back there?”

“Excuse the cliché, but it's a long story...”

“Well, where are you now?”

“Above Unova. I'm flying to Opelucid City.”

“'Flying?' Does that mean Rufflet finally...?”

“Evolved? Totally!”

“Oh! That's great!” Bianca raises her voice, so Braviary can hear her, “Congratulations, Rufflet, whatever you are now!”

“Brav!” Braviary says in response.

“Anyway,” says Bianca, “Since we both now have seven badges, a battle would be good preparation for our last Gyms, so do you think you could stop in Iccirus City?”

I think about this for a moment. It's important that I find out how to get the Zekrock to turn into the Legendary Pokemon, and it's a 'the sooner, the better,' kinda scenario, since for all I know, N could be strolling up Victory Road as we speak. On the other hand, Drayden, N, the fact that Team Plasma's 'Sage Faction' probably now has it in for me... I definitely have some tough battles ahead, and yeah, a battle with one of my rivals would be a good way to prepare. Besides, Alder did say that regardless of what's going on, I'm still on a Pokemon journey, and what do people do during a Pokemon journey? Travel, learn things, form friendly rivalries, become stronger and closer with Pokemon. It would be nice to get away from this Team Plasma/Zekrom business for a little while and do stuff Pokemon trainers usually do.

“Sure,” I say.

“Okay!” exclaims Bianca, “I'll be waiting for you at the Pokemon Center!” The transmission ends.

“Okay, Braviary,” I say, “Change course for...”

“Bravi!” Braviary veers a few degrees to the left. Heh... I guess no more had to be said; he did overhear us. Okay... we're off to Iccirus City!

Sorry for the wait. I've been kinda struggling with writer's block lately, and that makes writing very difficult. That said, I enjoy writing this and I'm happy to know that I'm entertaining you guys, but I might have to take a break from this for a little while; Just thought you should know, so you're not kept hanging with no explanation. Anyway, as usual, I hope you found this latest installment enjoyable!

Another terribly exciting chapter! I must say, when this fic first came up I wasn't too overjoyed with the idea, but when I picked up again around a month ago (the chapter where Ria traded Dewott for Mincchino), I've been a lot more interested. I suppose this is kinda because you have certain elements to your story that you refer back to that I've missed. I like it that way though! ^^

The main problem I have with the fic in general is the use of gen I-IV Pokémon (the point of Unova was that it was far from the other regions, after all), but since you're so far into it already, whining about it is pointless |D What I admire is your explanation of the Gym system (the Leaders have different teams depending on what badge it is the challenger is trying to get). This is exactly how I imagined it, and it's fun to see someone else thinking alike ^^

It's funny that you had writer's block with this chapter, because this fic is the best cure for writer's block, in terms of Pokémon fics, that I've ever encountered xD

“super-powerful, really amazing, near-invincible, godlike, feared-by-Arceus, amazingly strong, worship-worthy, totally badass fire/bug-type Pokemon called Volcarona.”

Lol =D
Awseome chapter as usual. Dunno what else to say, just, it's a pity we won't see another chapter for a while, but I can understand the feeling. So take your time and pump out something good - it's worth the wait =)

The main problem I have with the fic in general is the use of gen I-IV Pokémon (the point of Unova was that it was far from the other regions, after all), but since you're so far into it already, whining about it is pointless |D

I see where you're coming from, and you may have a point, but in the post-game you see previous gen Pokemon left and right, and I really don't buy that they just suddenly appeared out of nowhere one day. Besides, to me, the presence of Pokemon across all the generations is like saying that they're all part of the family, and singling out the gen V Pokemon just feels wrong to me; To elaborate, I think Zigzagoon, for example, should not so much be considered a Generation III Pokemon, but rather, just a Pokemon that stands alongside Pidove as much as it stands alongside Skitty, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, those are just my personal views.

Dunno what else to say, just, it's a pity we won't see another chapter for a while, but I can understand the feeling. So take your time and pump out something good - it's worth the wait =)

Thank you for your understanding. Believe me, I want to continue, and I still actively think of how to proceed with this story, it's just that I've been having trouble nowadays just writing. I hope this will pass soon.

In my opinion, a way to rectify the generation Pokemon issues for role plays and stories is simply to say that Generation IV Pokemon are more common in Sinnoh, but rarer in the other regions. Trading and breeders help increase their numbers among the trainers, however.

About an hour and a half has passed since Bianca's challenge call, and with me traveling by air from almost one side of Unova to the other, I've gotten very used to flying, and now, it's not so much thrilling as much as it's... well, tiring. The constant stream of air tends to get cold after a while, and it's not exactly pleasant being on your hands and knees for almost two straight hours. How Skyla can stand it, I have no clue. At least I now get why there are some people who have Pokemon to fly on, but prefer to go it by foot most of the time; I think I just might be one of them. Oh well... no use complaining, I guess...

Even through Unova during the summertime mostly looks like a wide sea of green from above, it isn't hard to spot where Iccirus City is, now that the Dragonspiral Tower is now standing tall over it (I wonder if trainers are now exploring the place, giving those Goletts a new reason for living. I also wonder if N thought about what getting Reshiram would mean to them). With that big and ancient structure in sight, I know we are approaching our destination and Braviary and I begin our descent when a voice calls out from above us, “Riiiiiiaaaaa~!”

“Huh?” I'm hundreds of feet off the ground and a voice calls down to me, so clearly that catches me off guard. I look up and see Bianca, riding on the back of her Flygon, “... Bianca?”

Bianca laughs, “I couldn't give you that surprise visit in Iccirus City that I was planning, so I thought I'd do something to surprise you anyway.”

“Well, thanks for saving me the trouble of looking for you,” I say, “You said you'd be waiting for me at the Pokemon Center, but the Iccirus Center is a complex of buildings, so...”

Bianca looks at Braviary, “Um... is that you, Rufflet?”

“Brav,” Braviary responds with a nod.

“Yup,” I say, “He's a Braviary now.”

“Cool,” says Bianca, “He looks tough...” She runs her hand along Flygon's neck, “... but not as tough as Flygon, right?”

“Flyg!” Flygon smugly says.

“Braaaavi!” Braviary responds, clearly taking that as a challenge.

I give Bianca and Flygon a sly smile, “I beg to differ. I think Braviary's way stronger... and we're totally willing to prove that the hard way, aren't we, Braviary.”

“Viary!” Braviary responds with a nod.

“Okay,” says Bianca, “I've really been looking forward to this.”

“Likewise.”

“Um... However, all the battlefields are being used right now, so we'll have to wait for a little while...”

“No we won't,” I say, smiling, “There's a place my Pokemon and I used to train over the last three weeks, so we can just use that area.”

At my command, Braviary flies toward the field we used as our training ground, followed by Bianca and Flygon. Along the way, Bianca asks, pointing at the Dragonspiral Tower, “Hey, Ria? I sort of doubt it, but do you know anything about that tower? It wasn't there last time...”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” I say, “Heck, I was practically there when it rose.”

Bianca's eyes widen, “What? Seriously?”

“Oh, that's the least of what went down...” I tell Bianca the abridged version of last night's events, from the tower's appearance, to Reshiram's awakening, to my Relic Castle adventure with Alder, to Team Plasma's raid on Nacrene Museum, and finally, getting the Zekrock, showing it as proof.

“Wow!” exclaims Bianca, “A lot has happened to you with Team Plasma. I mean, I fought them a few times to keep them from taking people's Pokemon, but...”

“... With more luck than you did in Castelia City?” I inquire.

“Yes, of course! You saw me battle with Cheren; Sure, I lost, but you had to have noticed how much stronger my Pokemon had gotten since then...” Bianca takes a deep breath, “Anyway, I really envy you, Ria. You know Team Plasma's leader, you fought alongside the Champion, and you'd even seen a Legendary Pokemon, and that stone you have with you might be another! That's so cool!”

I shrug, “Sure, I guess. Still, I think I could do with a little less drama on this journey...”

We arrive above the field, and our Pokemon gradually descend. As the ground gets closer to us, Bianca says, “Wow... this place is beautiful... Um, mostly anyway, but that spot...” She points down toward a large rectangular patch in the field. Unlike the rest of the green field, it's completely black and brown, made up of scorched grass and upturned earth, which kinda ruins the overall image, now that I'm seeing the place from above.

“That wasn't my handiwork,” I say, “it was like that when I first used it. I guess someone else used that as a training ground before me, or a really intense Pokemon battle had been fought there. Either way, since it was already ruined, I used that as that place for my Pokemon to train... and that's gonna be our battlefield.”

“Um... Okay.”

We land, spray our respective Pokemon's wings with ether, recall them, and take our positions on opposite ends of our makeshift battlefield.

Bianca says, “Um... Since this is your place, Ria, how about you decide the rules for our match?”

“Sure...” I take a couple seconds to think, “Well, we were planning on a six-on-six match. Is your Larvitar up to fighting strength yet?”

“Yes, very much,” says Bianca.

“Alright. Other than that, then, how about singles with one switch-out for each of us?”

“Okay!”

Bianca and I take a few seconds to decide which Pokemon we're gonna lead with. Unless Bianca rotated out some Pokemon, like I did, her Pokemon should be Emboar, Musharna, Zangoose, Glaceon, Flygon, and Larvitar, though it might not be a Larvitar anymore.

Anyways, who to start with...? Well, since Cinccino is a normal-type, with only one big type disadvantage, unless Bianca starts with Emboar, it should be a fairly safe first choice. Okay, it's decided.

“Are you ready?” I say.

“Yes,” says Bianca, “Let's battle!”

Bianca and I send out our first Pokemon.

“Good luck, Musharna!”

“Let's do this, Cinccino!”

Musharna and Cinccino appear.

Bianca looks at Cinccino and exclaims, “Aw! How cute... Wait, hold on... it sort of looks like a Minccino, like your mom's...”

“That's because he is my mom's Minccino,” I say, “Well, he used to be, anyway. He wanted to battle, and mom wanted me to train him, so I did, and he's a Cinccino now.”

“Oh! Congratulations... Cinccino!” says Bianca.

“Cin!” Cinccino exclaims.

“Well, Musharna and I aren't gonna show you any mercy, so I hope you're ready,” says Bianca, sounding very sweet and friendly, despite her words.

“Cino.”

“Okay, already. Let's get this show on the road,” I say.

“Okay!”

The battle begins. Musharna starts levitating further away from the ground. It looks like it's preparing to use the 'float up and attack from a safe distance' tactic Bianca loves so much.

“Cinccino! Get up there, and use Tail Slap!” I command.

“Cin!” Cinccino swiftly dashes toward Musharna.

“Psychic attack!” Bianca counter-commands.

“Muuuush!” Musharna fires a large psychic blast at Cinccino, but at that moment, he performs a quick aerial front-somersault, and slams his tail against the ground, catapulting himself several feet into the air, simultaneously dodging the attack and closing in on Drowsing Pokemon. This is a technique we came up with during the last three weeks of training, and because of it, Cinccino has become my second-best Pokemon at gaining altitude. It doesn't make him jump Blaziken-high, not even close, but it still gets him well off the ground, by about twenty feet.

His tail-catapult gets Cinccino a few feet above Musharna, and he descends on the psychic-type, preparing to strike hard with his tail.

“Hypnosis!” Bianca commands.

“Muuuuuuu...” Musharna looks up at Cinccino and her eyes glow pink. At that moment, Cinccino offensive stance loosens, and he harmlessly bounces off the psychic-type's head, and falls to the ground in a daze.

“No! Cinccino! Snap out of it!” I shout.

Despite my loud yell and Cinccino's heightened hearing, however, my words don't reach him. He stumbles around with a blank expression on his face, barely maintaining his balance, and finally, he falls to the ground, asleep.

“Crap...” I mutter. Not a good way to start the battle...

For a few seconds, Bianca looks at me expectantly, and then she says, “Musharna... take it down with another Psychic attack. Full power.”

A thought occurs to me as to why Bianca looked at me like that, and I bitterly think to myself, Oh you're good, Bianca; It's possible she's expecting me to recall Cinccino, forcing me to use my one switch-out for the battle... and her plan is working, considering the fact that I can only see two outcomes: A) recall Cinccino, or B) don't switch out Cinccino, and let him be knocked out; Bianca wins, either way.

“Shaaaaarn!” Musharna looks down at Cinccino, and a pink orb of psychic energy begins to form in front of her, gradually growing.

With only a few seconds to make my decision, my mind races as to what the better choice will be: Let Cinccino take one for the team and keep my switch-out, or recall Cinccino, and use my switch-out. Well, losing my switch-out may put me at a slight disadvantage, but being down one Pokemon before we can even put a dent in Musharna is an even bigger loss at this point. Well, it's decided.

“Cinccino! Return!” I recall Cinccino, just as Musharna fires her Psychic attack, bursting the ground where the Scarf Pokemon was.

At the same time, Bianca commands, “Musharna, use Light Screen and rise!”

“Muuuu!” A psychic shield appears around of Musharna, and it rises further from the ground.

Dang... Well, Bianca's gotten pretty clever. Not only did she force me to use my switch-out, but she also severely narrowed my choice for which Pokemon to use next. Unless I send out Braviary, the only hope I have of damaging Musharna is long-range attacks... and most of those are energy attacks, which Musharna's Light Screen will protect her from. Well, that eliminates what would have been my first choice, Magmortar. Two of my Pokemon have the ranged physical attack, Psycho Cut (Gallade and Absol), but that's a psychic-type move, which will barely put a dent in Musharna, and she's too far up for Marowak's Bonemerang. I could wait for Light Screen to wear off, and then attack, but my Pokemon are sitting Psyducks in the meantime. I guess there's only sensible choice right now...

I send out my next Pokemon, “Go! Braviary!” Braviary appears.

“Braaaaaaav!”

From my last battle with Bianca in Striaton City, I know Musharna can use the electric-type attack, Charge Beam, which can be problematic, plus Braviary will become an easier target as he closes in on the psychic-type... unless Braviary can do something to distract Musharna, and cover his advance... and he just might have such a move.

“Braviary! Rock Slide!” I command.

“Vi!” Braviary's wings glow dull-gray, and he runs them through the ground, slinging several chunks of earth up toward Musharna, each charged with rock-type energy.

Still appearing to feel like she's on top of things, Bianca shouts, “Musharna! Send them back with Psychic!”

Not missing a beat, however, I counter-command, “Braviary! Break through with Superpower!”

Musharna fires blasts of psychic-type energy at the stones, sending them back in the opposite direction, and rocketing down at Braviary. However, the Valiant Pokemon, with his entire form enveloped in reddish-brown fighting-type energy, busts straight through them, barely losing any speed in the process, and closes in on Musharna. Before the psychic-type can react, Braviary's talons glow dark-purple, and he passes the Drowsing Pokemon, slashing it with Shadow Claw.

“Shaaaaar!” Musharna shouts in pain.

“Great, Braviary!” I yell up to the Valiant Pokemon, “Now, use Sky Drop!”

“Via!” Braviary performs a quick U-turn, and before Musharna can recover, he grabs her with his talons and shoots headlong back to the ground. More than halfway down, he releases the Drowsing Pokemon, and she rockets down and slams against the earth with an explosion of dust and dirt.

“Ah! Musharna!” shouts Bianca, holding the psychic-type's Pokeball, clearly in contemplation of whether or not to use her switch-out.

Not feeling merciful at the moment, I then say, “Now, Braviary! Finish her with one more Shadow Claw!”

The dust clears, and Musharna slowly lifts off the ground, but at that moment, Braviary comes down, and slashes her with dark-purple talons. With that blow, Musharna falls back to the ground, covered with steaming scars.

Bianca waits for a couple seconds, waiting to see if Musharna will rise up again, but when she doesn't, Bianca holds out the Drowsing Pokemon's Pokeball, “Good job, Musharna. Return,” With a sigh, she recalls Musharna, and then she turns her attention toward me, and says, “I knew it wouldn't be that easy... but this battle is only just getting started!” She pulls another Pokeball from her belt, and sends out her next Pokemon, “Go! Glaceon!” Glaceon appears on Bianca's end of the battlefield.

“Glace!”

An ice-type... That was to be expected, but from my battle with Brycen, I know Braviary is well-equipped to handle one.

Not wasting any time, Bianca commands, “You know the drill, Glaceon! Use Hail!”

“Glaaaa!” Within the confines of the arena, a snowstorm starts to brew, and, through her Snow Cloak ability, Glaceon vanishes into it.

I know I should've expected Bianca to rely on Glaceon's Hail-Snow Cloak combo, but doesn't she remember what happened during her battle with Cheren, when Staraptor sucked in, then blew away the snowstorm with Whirlwind? Braviary's capable of the same technique.

However, any ideas I have about mimicking Cheren's strategy are promptly dashed, when Bianca then commands, “Now, follow it up with Blizzard!”

“Ceon!” At that moment, the snowstorm becomes much thicker, reducing my visibility of the arena, as well as the general temperature, to zero. Crap... now, that I think about it a little more, Cheren's Staraptor took some damage when she sucked up the snowstorm when fighting Glaceon... and with this much thicker and fiercer blizzard, it could cause some major harm to Braviary. I should've known a trainer of Bianca's caliber would've learned from that experience.

From inside the snowstorm, I hear Braviary groaning, “Braaaav...” Great... sucking it up or not, this is hurting Braviary either way.

From the other side of the blizzard, I hear Bianca shout, “He's helpless now, Glaceon! Use Ice Beam!”

“Glaa!” I hear Glaceon shout, followed by a sharp blasting sound. I'm expecting to hear Braviary make a pained cry... but it doesn't happen, and I even see a light-blue beam of condensed cold air shoot out of the storm, missing me by several feet, which means... which mean Braviary dodged it? But how? I can't see a thing in there.

A smirk crosses my face as a realization dawns on me: 'I can't see a thing in there,' keyword being 'I...' but Braviary totally can of course, thanks to his Keen Eye ability! He can see through fog, darkness, and anything short of a solid wall, so of course he can see through a blizzard! Thinking about it even more, when Glaceon used Hail, and faded into the snowstorm, Braviary didn't seem the least bit confused... because he could see through that too, maybe? If so, any optical obstructions Bianca and Glaceon are attempting have no effect on the normal/flying-type!

I shout into the blizzard with cupped hands, trying to overpower the sound of the winds, “Braviary! Hang in there, and use Superpower!”

There is a brief pause, but then I hear a loud smacking sound, along with a pained cry, “Glaaa...”

With that, the blizzard thins slightly, and I hear Bianca's baffled voice shout, “What? How did he...?”

“Alright,” I say, “Once more, with feeling. Superpower!”

There is another smack, and this time, the blizzard dissipates completely, with snow fluttering the the ground, coloring the brown and black surface white, revealing Braviary standing over a downed Glaceon, with two huge steaming bruises on her body.

“Glaceon!” shouts Bianca in a mix of shock and bafflement. She recalls the ice-type.

Braviary glances at me, with a tired grin. Clearly, Glaceon's Hail-Blizzard combo did a number on him, since steam's rising from his entire body, not to mention all the times he'd used Superpower, a very high-energy move. Thanks to him, we're ahead in this battle, but I don't think he can take much more.

“Braviary, can you keep fighting?” I ask.

“Brav...” Braviary gives a slow nod. Maybe he knows he won't last much longer, but he'll take one for the team, if it means weakening Bianca's next Pokemon as much as he can.

On the other side of the battlefield, Bianca looks like she's frantically trying to decide which Pokemon to use next. I can't blame her, seeing as, despite forcing me to use my switch-out early in this battle, I managed to get ahead, six-to-four.

With a slight smile, Bianca says, “Wow... you're really, really good, Ria.”

“You too,” I say, “I mean, I'm ahead, and all, but you've really had me on the edge of my proverbial seat...”

“Thanks,” Bianca says, grabbing another Pokeball from her belt, “but I'd gotten out of tons of situations like this, and I'll get out of this one too, you'll see!”

I give Bianca a slight smirk, “Bring it.”

“I will, Ria!” Bianca tosses the Pokeball into the field, “Go! Zangoose.” The Cat Ferret Pokemon appears, looking as grumpy as ever.

“Zang!”

Oh boy... Zangoose was pretty tough against Cheren's Serperior at Mistralton Gym. This could be an uphill round...

“Get ready, Braviary,” I say, “Rock Slide!”

“Crush Claw!”

Zangoose dashes toward Braviary, while he scoops his wing through the ground, slinging a group of rock-charged earthly chunks at the Cat Ferret Pokemon. However, Zangoose suddenly leaps into the air, dodging the attack, and then shoots down, cutting through Braviary with a powerful slash.

“Braaavi!” Braviary screeches, staggering back.

“Braviary!” I shout.

“Now finish it!” says Bianca, “Stone Edge!”

“Zaaang!” Zangoose bolts toward the stunned Braviary with dull-gray claws, and delivers another slash, this one leaving steaming marks across the Valiant Pokemon's torso. With a weak groan, Braviary falls to the ground, defeated.

I sigh, hold out Braviary's Pokeball, and say, “Good job, Braviary. Take a well-earned rest. Return.” I recall Braviary.

“Great job, Zangoose,” says Bianca, “That's one down!”

“Zan,” Zangoose responds, not exactly looking flattered, but who knows what a Pokemon like that is thinking?

Alright... I think to myself, Now, who to use against Zangoose? The most natural choice would be Gallade, being a fighting-type, and all, but he's also my psychic-type, and he could be my best chance against Emboar when Bianca decides to use him, so maybe it's best to hold off on sending him out for a little while. Likewise, it still might be too soon to use Magmortar, and it's probably best to wait for Musharna's spell on Cinccino to wear off... But speaking of Musharna, now that she's been taken care of, I can't think of a lot of situations for the rest of the battle where Absol will particularly excel... well type-wise, anyway... Well, since he and Zangoose should be evenly matched, it's a sound enough choice, I think...

“Go! Absol!” With Zangoose standing on my end of the battlefield, I toss Absol's Pokeball over the normal-type's head, and the Disaster Pokemon appears on Bianca's end.

Absol and Zangoose face off, and I wait for Bianca to give her command, intending to have Absol cut in with Sucker Punch. Your move, Bianca.

“Zangoose! Crush Cl--”

“SP!”

Zangoose leaps into the air in Absol's direction, but before the Cat Ferret Pokemon is even two feet off the ground, the Disaster Pokemon is zipping across the arena and passing Zangoose, slashing him with his head-blade.

“What?” Bianca exclaims in astonishment.

“Zaaaa!” Zangoose yells from the powerful and completely unexpected blow he just received, as he flies from my side of the arena, and back to Bianca's, no longer with a target to attack, and lands, sinking to one knee, grasping his wound with one arm, though he quickly recovers, gets back to his feet, and turns to face Absol.

“Don't let up, Absol!” I shout, “Use Ice Beam!”

“Sooool!” Absol whirls back toward Zangoose, and fires a freezing beam of ice-type energy.

Before the Ice Beam attack can connect, however, Zangoose suddenly splits into six images of himself, and the beam passes through one of the illusory Zangooses. Ugh... Double Team...

“Whew... Good job, Zangoose,” says Bianca in relief, “Okay! Now use Close Combat!”

The six Zangooses' claws glow reddish-brown, and they advance on Absol in a complex motion.

With not much time to come up with some brilliant tactic to overcome this latest development, I shout out the first countermeasure that pops into my head, “Absol! Psycho Cut! Psycho Cut! Find the real one!”

“Ab!” Absol's head-blade glows pink, and he swings his head around wildly, sending a volley of small psychic blades at the illusory team of Zangooses. However, they are very quick, and many miss, and whichever blades do find a target end up passing through them.

The Zangooses practically prance around Absol, who glances around in confusion. However, since they are in fairly close proximity to the dark-type, an idea comes into my mind, recalling some of the events at the Dragonspiral Tower last night, namely how Alder's Lucario managed to beat multiple Goletts at the same time.

“Absol! Dark Pulse! Now!”

“Sol!” An explosion of dark-type energy erupts from Absol's body, which engulfs the Zangooses... that is, except for the real one, who uses the Close Combat attack it has going to hack its way through the energy, and to Absol.

“Nice one, Zangoose!” Bianca shouts out, “Now, one more Close Combat!”

I counter-command Absol to use the quickest move he can perform within the limited time he has to counterattack, “Slash attack!”

Absol's head-blade glows white, and he attempts to slash Zangoose, but the normal-type's fighting-type attack easily overpowers it, and he mercilessly covers the Disaster Pokemon with slashes, each one leaving steaming scars.

“Sol!” Just barely hanging on with the Focus Sash, Absol lunges at Zangoose, swinging his head-blade, but apparently, the normal-type sees this coming, and he leaps high above the Disaster Pokemon, and comes down hard with another Crush Claw attack, which sends the dark-type sliding across the ground, stopping just short of me.

“Ab... sol...” Absol tries to get back to his feet, but collapses before he's even halfway upright.

“Nice try, Absol. Return.” I hold out Absol's Pokeball and recall the dark-type. At the same time, Zangoose leaps back to Bianca's side of the battlefield, but looks like he's feeling a tad under the weather, no doubt having just used a bunch of high-powered Close Combat attacks in a row, but still tries to look tough.

Now Bianca and I are tied, four to four. It looks like Bianca has changed her strategy with Zangoose since her battle with Cheren, where, instead of focusing on offense with Swords Dance, she's focusing on defense with Double Team, which is always a problematic move for me and my Pokemon... well, with one exception, anyway (maybe two, considering Braviary's Keen Eye since evolution, but I never got a chance to test that out). I was planning to save Gallade for Emboar, but he's a fighting-type, who can see through Double Team, so which of my Pokemon could possibly be better to counter Zangoose? (Although I did tell Bianca about my training with Alder on Route 5, I don't think I got into specifics, so I doubt she knows about the psychic/fighting-type's useful skill) As for Emboar, Gallade might last through a few rounds to battle him, and if not, I still have Marowak, so it's not too big a deal. Alright...

I toss Gallade's Pokeball into the field, “You're up next! Gallade!” The Blade Pokemon appears on my end of the arena.

“Gall.” Gallade strikes a battle stance.

Bianca gives Gallade a quick analysis with her Pokedex, and then says, clearly not taking any chances, “Okay, Zangoose! Use Double Team, then Crush Claw!”

“Zangoo!” Zangoose splits into seven images of himself, and then they all charge at Gallade.

Struggling to keep myself from grinning cockily, I say, “Gallade, use Brick Break.”

“Galla!” Gallade's blades extend from his elbows and emanate a reddish-brown glow. He holds his ground as the Zangooses approach.

The normal-type and his six doubles leap into the air, and then they come down at the Blade Pokemon, one-by-one, in rapid succession. The first four harmlessly pass through Gallade, but then the Blade Pokemon jumps back, dodging the attack of the fifth one, who ends up striking the ground with his claws instead. From there, Gallade almost instantly lunges at Zangoose, delivering a powerful slash which sends the Cat Ferret Pokemon tumbling back several feet, and erasing the illusory Zangooses on contact.

“Wh... what?” Bianca stammers, wide-eyed, “How did he...?”

“Um... Lucky guess?” I say, unable to contain a smile. I know I'm not doing a very good job of hiding the truth, and that Bianca probably knows that this is more than just mere luck.

Gripping his deep steaming gash, Zangoose gets back to his feet and gives Gallade a venomous glare, “Za... an...” He definitely won't be able to handle a second blow like the one he just took.

“All right, Gallade!” I say. I extend my arm toward Zangoose and command, “Now, use Psycho Cut!”

“Llade!” Gallade's blades glow pink, and he sends a psychic blade Zangoose's way.

At that moment, however, Bianca extends Zangoose's Pokeball toward the normal-type, and shouts, “Return!” With that, Zangoose vanishes with a flash, and all Gallade's Psycho Cut attack finds is empty air. It looks like Bianca decided to use her switch-out, and she couldn't have picked a better time to do it... well, 'better' for her, worse for me, anyway. This means if Gallade gets knocked out, whatever Pokemon I have to take his place won't be able to see through Double Team.

Bianca takes several seconds to decide which Pokemon to use next. Besides Zangoose, her remaining Pokemon should be Flygon, Emboar, and Larvitar... but why is it taking her so long to decide? Emboar's part fighting-type, and Larvitar (or Tyranitar, or whatever) is part rock-type, if I remember correctly. Flygon seems like the only logical choice... but then again, I know first hand that type isn't everything in a Pokemon battle, and unexpected choices can pay off (heck, Magmortar is my Pokemon of choice against water-types).

Finally, Bianca makes her choice and sends out Zangoose's replacement, “Okay! Go! Tyranitar!”

“Tyraaaan!” The Pokemon that appears on Bianca's end is a hulking dragon-ish Pokemon, standing at almost seven feet, with sharp teeth and claws, and completely covered with a sturdy-looking green hide, resembling armor, though it also looks flexible enough to provide enough movement. This Pokemon almost reminds me of the Aggron from last night, though not quite as bulky, but every bit as menacing. So, this is Tyranitar...

Gallade and Tyranitar face off for a few seconds, until Bianca breaks the silence, shouting, “Tyranitar, attack! Use Shadow Claw!”

With an intense roar, Tyranitar's claws begin to radiate dark-purple ghost-type energy, and he charges at Gallade.

Hm... IIRC, when I analyzed Bianca's Larvitar back in Mistralton City, it was a rock/ground-type, so the same can probably be said about Tyranitar. Still, like Aggron, he looks like it can take enough physical punishment to be able to counterattack, and what a counterattack it would be, if he's as tough as he looks. That said, having Gallade attack head-on is probably not such a good idea. The best way to start is to deliver a surprise attack.

“Gallade!” I call out, “Use Shadow Sneak!”

Gallade's blade's emit a dark-purple glow of their own, and the Blade Pokemon disappears with a blur.

“Ran?” Tyranitar comes to a sudden stop, as Gallade vanishes.

Suddenly, behind Tyranitar, Gallade appears and leaps toward the rock/ground-type, delivering a hard slash to his back with one of his blades. My plan is for Gallade to catch Tyranitar off guard with Shadow Sneak, and while he's stunned from that attack, follow it up with Leaf Blade. However, Tyranitar doesn't even flinch from the blow, and before Gallade can deliver a second attack, he whirls around toward the surprised Blade Pokemon, swinging one of his claws. Fortunately, Gallade manages to block the attack in time, but as his Shadow Sneak attack, and Tyranitar's Shadow Claw attack connect, there's a loud snapping sound, followed by an explosion of dark-purple energy, an effect that happens when two attacks strong against each other collide. The ghost-type energy blast hits both of them, but Gallade is the only one who is sent flying, while Tyranitar shrugs it off.

What gives? I know I wasn't attacking any of Tyranitar's weaknesses with a ghost-type attack, but I thought they'd at least do some damage. I pull out my Pokedex and analyze Tyranitar. Well, he's also known as the Armor Pokemon... and he's a rock/dark-type... Now it makes sense...

Ugh... How could you be so stupid, Ria? You should know Pokemon don't always consistently keep their types when evolving. After all, Gallade became part fighting-type when he evolved from Kirlia...

However, any self-loathing I have toward myself for being so careless is quickly replaced by relief, considering that Tyranitar's rock/dark-type works even more to Gallade's advantage, being part fighting-type! Okay. We can still do this!

As Gallade begins to recover, Bianca says, “Way to go, Tyranitar! Now, use Body Slam!”

“Tyran!” Tyranitar dashes in Gallade's direction, and then leaps several feet into the air, poised to crash down on Gallade with his full weight. Fortunately, Gallade manages to get back upright much faster than me or Bianca expected.

“Alright, Gallade,” I say, “Use Brick Break!”

Gallade's blades glow reddish-brown, and he leaps up at Tyranitar, delivering a slash to the Armor Pokemon's side as they pass in midair.

Tyranitar lets out a grunt as he takes Gallade's attack, but once again, something is up: where Gallade slashed Tyranitar, only steam pours out of the cut, but it just took a fighting-type attack; a strike to its critical weakness! There should be flames instead!

“What?” I exclaim reflexively.

“I gave Tyranitar a Chople Berry,” explains Bianca, “Until his next trip to the Pokemon Center, he'll be protected from one fighting-type move. With his armor, I don't think that attack hurt him much.”

So, Bianca gave Tyranitar something similar to Magmortar's Power Herb. Still, looking on the bright side, that means he won't be protected from another fighting-type attack during this battle.

I think back to that time I was attacked by that Shadow Triad guy, who used that Bisharp, who was practically unaffected by Gallade's fighting-type attacks, when they should have been much more powerful. Was that the reason why--?

“Gallade gall!” Acting on his own, Gallade, his blades glowing reddish brown again, leaps into the air, and descends on Tyranitar. I snap out of my flashback, reminding myself to stay focused on the present. My Pokemon are counting on me to pay attention and make the right calls.

Bianca counter-commands, “Tyranitar! Use Outrage!”

“Tyyyyyyyyy!” With an enraged roar, Tyranitar's body lets out a pulse of dragon-type energy, which repels Gallade away from him. The Blade Pokemon successfully corrects himself in midair, and lands on his feet, but at that moment, Tyranitar, whose entire body is now engulfed in the dragon energy to the point of almost being a dark-blue silhouette, quickly closes in on him, preparing to deliver a powerful crashing attack.

Gallade quickly raises an arm, just barely blocking Tyranitar's attack with one of his blades, but the impact is enough to send him stumbling back almost seventeen feet. Whoa! If Gallade didn't defend himself at just that moment, that would've been it for him! This 'Outrage' move's no joke!

“Gallade!” I yell, “Focus on evasion! Use Shadow Sneak if you must!”

“Llade!” Gallade responds, as he dives out of the way of Tyranitar's next charge.

I remember the Haxorus Iris lent Bianca in Castelia City using a technique like the one Tyranitar is using now. Afterward, the Haxorus was too drained to do anything afterward. If Gallade can make it through this, we'll have a chance to deliver a devastating counterattack!

Tyranitar charges around the battlefield in a full-on berserker rage, moving surprisingly fast for something of his size. Luckily, Gallade is still faster, and with each attack the Armor Pokemon attempts, the Blade Pokemon either retreats, just barely blocks, or uses Shadow Sneak to get behind his opponent. Gradually, the dragon energy surging through Tyranitar peters out as he no doubt starts to tire.

As Tyranitar's energy becomes faint, and he makes one last desperate charge to finish off Gallade, I command, “Gallade! Hold your ground and use Protect!”

“Gall!” Gallade assumes a defensive stance, spreading his legs planted firmly on the ground, and positioning his blades, glowing pink, in front of him to absorb Tyranitar's attack. The two Pokemon clash, with Tyranitar pushing against Gallade's blades, while the Blade Pokemon does everything he can to resist the assault, being pushed back, but never losing his footing.

Finally, Tyranitar's dragon-type energy dissipates completely, and is stunned from exhaustion, while Gallade is right in front of him ready to immediately launch a counterattack.

“Ah!” Bianca exclaims, wide-eyed.

“Here's our chance!” I shout out to Gallade, “Close Combat!”

Gallade's blades turn reddish-brown, and he proceeds to shower Tyranitar's body with slashes. The rock/dark-type roars in pain as flames erupt from each cut inflicted.

After no fewer than twenty or so quick and powerful blows, Gallade, having thrown most of his energy into his attack, stumbles away from Tyranitar, and looks up at the Armor Pokemon as he stands, stunned, with reddish-brown fire erupting from his chest, breathing heavily. I, and no doubt, Gallade, are expecting his opponent to crash to the ground any second. Instead, Tyranitar suddenly comes right back to life, lunges forward, and with dark-purple energy emanating from them, sinks his claws into Gallade's arms.

“Ah! Gallade!” I exclaim. Dang! What does it take to defeat a Tyranitar? Holy water? A stake through its heart? It must have been quite a job for Bianca to train Larvitar, seeing that this unbelievably powerful Pokemon was the result!

With a relieved sigh, Bianca says, “Good job, Tyranitar. Now, use Body Slam.”

“Gallade! Gallade!” Gallade tries to break free of Tranitar's grasp, but can't even budge him.

Tyranitar jumps into the air with Gallade in tow, and he crashes to the ground, crushing the psychic/fighting-type beneath him.

Tyranitar gets off Gallade, and the Blade Pokemon, halfway embedded into the ground, twitches his arms and legs a little, but it's clear he's not getting up from the attack he just took.

“Nice try, Gallade. Return.” I recall Gallade back to his Pokeball, and then let out a frustrated grunt.

“Tyranitar is called the 'Armor Pokemon for a reason,” says Bianca, sounding irritatingly cheerful, “Not even fighting-type attacks will easily break through his defenses.”

“I noticed,” I grumble. Crap, now I'm the one who's behind, three to four. At least Gallade managed to weaken Zangoose and Tyranitar, and forced Bianca to use her switch-out, so that's a plus.

Anyway, who to use next? This is the second day in a row I'd taken on a Pokemon with a hard armored body, the first being the Aggron from last night, and what did I do during that experience? Test its resistance against energy attacks, as opposed to its defenses against physical attacks. Well, Tyranitar was an unusual choice to make against Gallade, so its time to make a controversial Pokemon choice of my own!

I pick the next Pokeball from my belt and toss it, “You're up next! Magmortar!” With a flash, the Blast Pokemon appears.

Before I can give any encouraging words to the fire-type or really, before he's even completely aware of the situation, Bianca gives Magmortar a quick glance and immediately commands Tyranitar, “Use Rock Slide!” Well, that was quick. Then again, Magmortar is a pretty obvious fire-type, so I guess it doesn't take much to decide which attack to use against him.

“Tyran...” Tranitar responds, sounding really tired, which I decide to take as a good sign. He leans toward the ground, and sinks his claws into it, causing a slight tremor to surge through the ground.

With Bianca clearly trying to get the jump on us, I shout, “Magmortar! Use Focus Blast!”

“Mag!” Magmortar levels his cannon at Tyranitar. At the same time, the Armor Pokemon pulls a large chunk of rock and dirt out of the ground, charged with rock-type energy.

It takes slightly less than two seconds for Magmortar to charge his Focus Blast attack to its minimum output, but that's all the time Tyranitar needs to leap about fifteen feet off the ground, narrowly dodging Magmortar's fighting-type attack, and hurl the earth chunk down at the fire-type.

Magmortar turns to dodge, but Tyranitar attack manages to score a direct hit, and the earthly cluster shatters upon impact, with the Blast Pokemon flying out of the explosion, steam pouring out of almost all of his torso. Oh crap... The fire-type hits the ground, flat on his back.

“M-maaaag...”

“That was great, Tyranitar!” Bianca calls out, “Now use Body Slam!”

“Ran!” Tyranitar leaps into the air again, this time poised to come down belly-first on top of Magmortar. Fortunately, the fire-type still has the strength to aim his cannon up at Tyranitar, and he's just waiting for me to make the right call... so what to do? Magmortar needs to use a potent attack that can be performed almost right away... and one idea quickly comes to mind.

“Solar Beam!” I yell, “Now!”

Just as Tyranitar is almost a nanosecond away from squashing him flat, Magmortar fires his Solar Beam attack right into the middle of Tyranitar's body, where Gallade's previous Close Combat attack did the most damage. The sheer force of the grass-type attack stops Tyranitar is midair, and gradually pushes his back up.

“Tyranitar!” yells Bianca.

“Ty... raaaan!” Tyranitar roars as the Solar Beam finally pierces its way so far into his body that the attack erupts out of his back, and hurls him back in Bianca's direction. It looks like that finished it. After a blow like that, Tyranitar is no doubt done.

“Return!” Bianca recalls Tyranitar before he even hits the ground.

“Good one, Magmortar!” I call out with a thumbs-up, “That was awesome!”

Magmortar gets back to his feet and nods at me with a cocky smirk, “Mort.”

Whew... That Tyranitar was freaking tough, managing to defeat Gallade, and also do a lot of damage to Magmortar. It looks like Bianca and I are tied again, with my remaining Pokemon being Magmortar, Cinccino, and Marowak, and Bianca's being Emboar, Flygon, and Zangoose.

“What was that?” exclaims Bianca.

“That was Solar Beam,” I say flatly, “Y'know, a really powerful grass-type move. You've never seen it?”

“I'd seen it,” says Bianca, “but that move takes forever to use! How did Magmortar use it so fast?”

Well, Bianca told me about Tyranitar's Chople Berry, so I guess it's only fair to explain my deepest and darkest strategic secrets as well, “Magmortar ate a Power Herb,” I say, “With that, he can fire off one fully-powered Solar Beam, free of charge.”

“Thanks, I'll remember that,” says Bianca, “Now...” Bianca takes another few seconds to think over her next Pokemon, and once again I have to wonder why, since Flygon seems like the best possible choice. Finally, she makes her decision, and tosses a Pokeball into the field, “Okay! Go! Zangoose!” Zangoose appears, making his second entrance. He looks a little better, having rested a little since Gallade, but still seems to be in rough shape. Still, that doesn't reassure me, seeing as Gallade, my Pokemon who Double Team is useless against, has been defeated, and Magmortar seems equally worn down by Tyranitar's attack. This could be an uphill round...

Just as Zangoose appears, Bianca shouts, “Zangoose! Use Double Team!”

“Zang!” With a shout, Zangoose splits into five images of himself. They fan out and gradually advance on Magmortar.

Okay... Magmortar may not be able to see through Double Team, but this isn't the first time he'd dealt with it. We'll use the strategy we used against Elesa's Emolga.

“Okay, Magmortar,” I say, “Prepare to use Overheat.”

“Moooor...” The air around Magmortar starts to distort as he raises his internal temperature, preparing to release that heat at any moment.

The Zangooses surround the Blast Pokemon, and all at once, they converge on him, claws raised.

“Now!” I shout.

The temperature rises by at least one-hundred fifty degrees as orange, red, and yellow colors completely fill my vision for a couple seconds (though this move no longer scares me as much as it once had). When the flames clear, the Zangoose doubles are gone... but the original is still standing, twenty feet away from Magmortar. Apparently, he managed to retreat from the blast, though just barely, since some of his fur is singed, or even on fire, which the Cat Ferret Pokemon attempts to bat out, with the horrible smell of scorched hair filling the air..

“Whew... Good move, Zangoose,” sighs Bianca.

Fortunately, with Zangoose attending to his burns, Magmortar is allowed enough time to recover from using his powerful attack.

As soon as Magmortar regains enough strength to stand upright, I command, “Quick, Magmortar! Use Focus Blast! Attack before Zangoose can use Double Team again!”

“Mag!” Magmortar charges toward Zangoose, just as the Cat Ferret Pokemon is finished putting out the last of the flaming patches on his fur, with his cannon extended and he charges up a powerful blast of fighting-type energy.

“Ah! Look out!” exclaims Bianca.

Zangoose dashes toward Magmortar, and just as the Blast Pokemon fires his attack, the normal-type leaps several feet into the air, narrowly avoiding the shot, and he descends on the fire-type.

Bianca and I give out next commands at the same time, “Flamethrower!”

“Stone Edge!”

Magmortar aims his cannon up at Zangoose, and releases a continuous stream of flames, while Zangoose's claws glow dull-gray, and he comes down, poised to strike.

“Cut through!” Bianca commands Zangoose.

“More power!” I command Magmortar.

Zangoose proceeds to use his rock-powered claws to slice through the flames, while Magmortar's stream of fire slightly increases in intensity... but not by much, since there's only so much more energy that he can muster after he used his Overheat attack, and it isn't long until he reaches his limit, and the flames start to thin. Not good...

Diving claws-first through the flames, Zangoose lands in front of Magmortar.

“Mag!” Magmortar exclaims in surprise, with absolutely no way to dodge the upcoming attack.

“Zang!” Zangoose delivers a brutal slash with his Stone Edge attack, which sends Magmortar flying, landing just short of me. The Blast Pokemon attempts to get back up, but he collapses halfway.

“Nice work, Magmortar,” I say, holding out the fire-type's Pokeball, “Return.” Magmortar disappears with a flash.

Despite surviving Magmortar's attacks, it looks like Zangoose couldn't avoid taking some serious damage of his own, seeing that about half of his body had been scorched by flames. Still, he's standing, though his eyes are bloodshot, his breathing is ragged, and he's clearly hanging on through sheer willpower.

“Zangoose, are you okay?” asks Bianca, concerned, “Should I recall you?”

“Zang zang!” Zangoose barks at Bianca, as if her question annoys him.

“Okay...”

Braviary, Absol, and now, Magmortar; Bianca's Zangoose alone had managed to take down half of my team. She's totally trained him well, but it seems he's only planning to wear down my next Pokemon as much as he can, since there's no way he'll make it through another round. My only remaining Pokemon are Marowak and Cinccino. Still, after Zangoose, Bianca's remaining Pokemon will be Emboar and Flygon. Both of my remaining Pokemon are totally capable of finishing off Zangoose; it's who Bianca will send out next that's the issue here. If I use Cinccino, Bianca will probably send out her fighting-type, Emboar, against my normal-type, and that could be a problem. Marowak seems like the best choice, as he has an advantage against Emboar, and is equal against Flygon, type-wise.

“I choose you! Marowak!” I send out the Bonekeeper.

“Maro!” Marowak rears back his club, awaiting my command.

“You know the drill, Zangoose,” says Bianca, “Double Team!”

Zangoose creates two doubles, probably the most he can create in his current state, and they charge at Marowak in a spread-out formation.

“Bonemerang!” I command, “Attack all of them!”

Marowak tosses his club, and it spins through the air. With his ability to control its flight, the club moves out in a wide arc. It passes through one of the Zangooses, but as it approaches another, he performs an evasive back-flip, narrowly avoiding the ground-type's attack.

“That one!” I say, “Use Brick Break!”

“Wak!” Marowak dashes across the battlefield at Zangoose. He leaps into the air, grabs his club in mid-flight, which then glows reddish-brown, and he comes down hard on the Cat Ferret Pokemon, striking him over the head with his Brick Break attack. With steam pouring out of his head, Zangoose instantly goes down.

“Return!” Bianca recalls Zangoose. Alright! Now we're tied again, two-to-two! It doesn't take long for my best friend-slash-rival to select her next Pokemon to take the field, “Go! Emboar!”

On Bianca's end, Emboar appears, and it lets out a roar, “Boooar!”

Okay... now I really gotta question what's going through Bianca's head. This is the third time she's chosen a Pokemon that's not Flygon when it would've been the most logical choice. She's clearly up to something, holding off on using Flygon... and that tactic has two words written all over it: trump card. She's probably hoping to wear down my team, so that if she is forced to use Flygon, it'll be at its weakest. Now I'm really curious, but I need to focus on taking down Emboar first, because if I can't beat him with Marowak, Cinccino's chances of beating him are kinda slim, and if that turns out being the case, there's a fair chance I won't even see Flygon before this battle is over.

I know Emboar is pretty dangerous up-close, so fighting him from a distance is probably the way to go here.

“Okay, Marowak! Keep your distance and use Bonemerang!” I shout.

“Maro!” Marowak rears back, and tosses his club across the battlefield at Emboar.

“Hammer Arm!” Bianca counter-commands.

“Boooar!” Emboar raises one of his fists, which starts to glow reddish-brown, and he swings it down on top of Marowak's club, knocking it to the ground in front of him.

Oh crap. Even though Marowak can manipulate his club's movements in flight, he can't just summon it back it him when it's not in motion, so he'll have to retrieve it by hand. In the meantime, he's almost helpless without his weapon.

“Good job, Emboar,” says Bianca, “Now, use Flare Blitz!”

“Embooooar!” Emboar's entire body becomes red with fire-type energy, and from there, that energy flows into his fists, which ignite with intense flames. The Mega Fire Pig charges across the battlefield at Marowak.

“Look out!” I shout.

Emboar leaps toward Marowak, and throws a downward punch, which the ground-type narrow avoids with a backward jump, but the impact on the ground results in an explosion, which tosses him back a couple feet, though he manages to land, standing.

Not cool. Marowak could dodge the first punch easily enough, because he saw Emboar coming, but since the fire/fighting-type is now at a very close range, the second one is gonna be much harder to avoid. C'mon, Ria. Think! There's gotta be something Marowak can do, even without his club.

Emboar advances on Marowak, swinging his flaming fist wildly, while the Bonekeeper, putting his training in mobility to good use, narrowly avoids each attack, but at this rate, it's only a matter of time until Emboar's technique finds its target, unless I can figure something out.

As Emboar rears back for a horizontal swing, an idea finally dawns on me, and I shout, “Dig! Now!”

Marowak ducks under Emboar's haymaker, and claws away at the ground at his opponent's feet, making it underground within a second, and bursting out behind the Mega Fire Pig another second later.

“Great, Marowak,” I say, “Now get your club!”

“Marooo!” Marowak makes a break for his weapon, while Emboar whirls around and gives chase. Fortunately, whatever attributes Bianca decided to train the fire/fighting-type in, speed wasn't one of them, and Marowak stays well-ahead. Some trainers I fought said it was stupid of me to train an ordinarily slow Pokemon like Marowak in speed, but it's sure paying off here.

The Bonekeeper swipes his weapon off the ground, and turns to face his opponent. Marowak's club glows brown, and he holds it up horizontally, blocking Emboar's flaming punch. There's an explosion, and some of the flames scorch him, but Marowak handles the damage well, having not taken a direct hit from the Flare Blitz attack.

With Emboar's full weight against his club, Marowak steps back, releasing his block, causing Emboar to stumble forward, off-balance, and then he leaps up, and with his club now glowing with fighting-type energy, he swings down hard on the Mega Fire Pig's head, using the force of his blow to launch himself into the air, and land several feet behind the fire/fighting-type.

Seeing that Emboar's back is now exposed to Marowak, I say, “Now, let's try again! Bonemerang!”

Marowak tosses his bone again, and it slams against the Mega Fire Pig's back, leaving a steaming bruise.

“Booooooooar!”

“We're not done yet,” Bianca says to Emboar, “Use Earthquake! Give it everything you got!”

Emboar recovers, and he raises his fist, which starts to gather and glow with brown ground-type energy, and I know, after watching him battle Cheren's Froslass, that he's about to use a fully-powered Earthquake attack, which will cover the entire battlefield, hitting anything on the ground, whether he's facing his opponent or not. I can think of one way to counter it, however.

“You too, Marowak!” I yell, “Earthquake! Full Power!”

“Maro!” Marowak leaps up, and retrieves his club while airborne.

As Emboar's fist collides with the earth, Marowak holds his bone with both hands, and with his weapon radiating ground-type energy, he slams it against the ground as he lands.

With two Earthquake attacks going on at the same time, the vibration of the ground is especially violent, and not only are Bianca and I thrown off out feet, but we're also tossed around as well. Throughout the battlefield, the ground explodes, obscuring my view with all the dirt that gets hurled into the air.

After about twenty seconds, the vibrations die down enough that I can stand. With my skin and clothes covered with dirt and grass stains, I look at the battlefield as the dust settles. Well, with the intensity of the combined force of two powerful attacks, it was impossible for either Pokemon to completely avoid damage. Marowak is covered with bruises and cuts, and is down on one knee, supporting himself with his club, while Emboar is on all fours, with steam pouring out of almost his entire body. Between the two, Emboar clearly took more damage, which I expected. As powerful as Emboar's Earthquake attack is, it's still not on par with a ground-type using a ground-type attack, and Marowak's Thick Club made it all the more powerful...

I'm expecting Emboar to give up and collapse at any moment, but instead, he's the first to get to his feet, while Marowak is still reeling from the damage he took! What gives? First Tyranitar, and now, Emboar! What are Bianca's Pokemon made of?

“Your Pokemon might be fast, Ria,” says Bianca, “but Emboar has endurance and fortitude, and can take a lot of damage. We'll win this round!” Bianca extends her arm toward Marowak, “Emboar! Heat Crash!”

“Boaaaar!” Emboar roars as he jumps into the air, ignites his entire body, and comes down, belly-first, like a meteor on top of Marowak, landing with an explosion of fire, and creating a small crater.

“Ahh! Marowak!” I shout.

After the sound of the powerful impact, there's a brief silence, and Emboar gets off Marowak, but inside the small flaming crater the Mega Fire Pig formed, there's... nothing!

Before any of us can comprehend what just happened, the ground on my end of the arena bursts open, and Marowak leaps out. It seems he received some light burns, but he escaped most of the damage he would've took.

“Marowak...” I say, relieved.

Bianca and Emboar lets out some shocked exclamations, “W-what?”

“Emb?”

“Maro!” Marowak tosses his club down at Emboar.

“Hammer Arm!” counter-commands Bianca, clearly intending to repeat a tactic from earlier.

Again, Emboar swings his fist down at the club, but with Marowak apparently having not forgotten what happened earlier, the weapon suddenly veers off to a sharp left, avoiding the counterattack. From there, the bone flies all over the place, repeatedly slamming into Emboar, leaving steam with every strike.

“Boooooooooar!” Emboar roars in pain.

“Good, Marowak,” I say, grinning, “Now, finish it! Brick Break! Don't hold back!”

“Wak!” Marowak leaps into the air, grabbing his club partway, and descends on the Mega Fire Pig, smashing him hard over the head with another Brick Break attack, which sends Emboar slamming face-first against the ground.

“Ah! Emboar! Get up!” Bianca calls out.

“Stay on your guard, Marowak,” I say, “He might still have some fight left in him.”

Marowak takes a couple steps away from the downed Emboar, and assumes a defensive stance.

“Em...” Emboar presses his hands against the ground, and tries to push himself up, but partway, his strength gives out, and he crashes back down.

“Nice try, Emboar. Return.” Bianca recalls Emboar.

“Way to go, Marowak,” I say.

Without a word, Marowak glances back at me, and smirks confidently. To think I had the most trouble getting him to respect me. It feels like we've finally become an inseparable team.

Anyway, I'm back in the lead again, two-to-one! However, I'm not feeling too celebratory. After all, even with some serious toughies like Zangoose and Tyranitar, Bianca's been actively saving Flygon for last. The last time I saw that ground/dragon-type fight, all she succeeded in doing was weakening Cheren's Staraptor; What kinda training did she get since then for her to become Bianca's ace-in-the-hole...? Or could I be over-analyzing it, and this really wasn't a conscious action on Bianca's part; just the way this battle turned out? Even though I have doubts, I hope it's the latter...

Bianca grabs Flygon's Pokeball from her belt, and says, “Okay... our victory is riding on you now, Flygon. Go!” She tosses her Pokeball into the field and sends out the Mystic Pokemon.

“Flygoooooon!”

“Be careful, Marowak,” I say, “Bianca might be up to something with this one.”

Nodding his head, but still keeping his eyes on Flygon, Marowak responds, “Wak.”

“Okay, Flygon,” says Bianca, “Take to the sky!”

“Flygon!” Flygon flaps her wings, and rises higher and higher off the ground.

If Flygon gets too high up, Marowak's vulnerable to whatever long-range abilities Flygon can use, with no effective ways to fight back! “Don't let her get away, Marowak! Bonemerang!” I command.

Marowak tosses his club up at Flygon. However, the Mystic Pokemon isn't unprepared, and her lengthy tail glows dark-blue as it whips around her body, knocking the weapon away.

“Shoot...” I mutter.

Marowak grabs his club, and then tosses it again. Unfortunately, Flygon is now well out of his range, at a height of about seventy feet.

Smiling innocently, Bianca says, “You were right, Ria. I was up to something... Now you'll find out what!” Bianca raises her arm dramatically, “Flygon...” Just as dramatically, she throws her arm forward, “Use Draco Meteor!”

“Flyyyyyy!” Flygon screeches. She faces downward, and a massive ball of dragon-type energy starts to form. After a few seconds, it shoots down toward Marowak.

Even though the attack looks impressive enough, I'm not impressed with its nature. Even if that mass of dragon energy is large, it's slow and shot at such a great range that Marowak can dodge it easily. Is this seriously what Bianca's been saving for--

Before I can complete my thought, the large ball explodes, splintering into several smaller blasts of dark-blue dragon energy, which start to rain down and bombard the battlefield like a shower of meteorites, and I know that big trouble is coming.

Marowak frantically dashes around the battlefield, dodging the blasts. Unfortunately, they also burst into small explosions when they hit the ground, so even if Marowak narrowly dodges a 'meteor,' the blasts can still hurt him.

There's no way Marowak can keep dodging. Sooner or later, the attack will wear him down, or even knock him out if one of those blasts manage to score a direct hit!

“Marowak! Get underground!” I yell through cupped hands, “Take cover!”

“Wak!” Marowak tosses his club into the air, wrapping the tip of his tail around it as he uses his now-free hands to dig away at the ground, which, by now, is pretty soft, after all this battle has done to it, and he's under the earth's surface, safe from Flygon's attack.

This is good, I think, If that 'Draco Meteor' attack is rendered useless by Marowak's ability to burrow, Flygon will be forced to come back down, and then they'll be even again.

“Flygon! Dunk one!” Bianca yells up to Flygon, pointing at the hole Marowak just dug.

One of the meteors slightly shifts its course, and dunks right into Marowak's hole. An explosion of dragon-type energy erupts from the hole, as well as a pained yell echoing up from it, “Marooooo!”

“Marowak!”

“Way to go, Flygon!” cheers Bianca, “Now, use Earthquake!”

“Flyyyyyygon!” Flygon dives down to the ground, with her tail radiating brown light, and she slams it hard against the earth, causing another violent tremor, though not nearly as intense as the two Earthquake attacks Marowak and Emboar used simultaneously. Even so, as powerful as it is above ground, it's gotta be absolutely horrible underground.

The shaking lasts for a few seconds. Partway, Marowak is thrown up from underground, as if the planet itself regurgitated him (or something similarly melodramatic.) When the tremors end, Marowak is flat on his face, with his left arm and right leg twitching, and I know he's not gonna get up for more.

“Good work, Marowak,” I say, “Come back, now.” I recall the Bonekeeper. Now Bianca and I are tied again, one-to-one, and we're at the game point.

As I grab Cinccino's Pokeball from my belt, I notice something that I take relief in: Flygon is breathing hard and fast... and why wouldn't she? An attack like Draco Meteor no doubt took a lot of energy to perform. Marowak may not have landed any hits, but we weakened her, nonetheless.

As I rear back to toss Cinccino's Pokeball, however, I notice something else that I don't find so reassuring: Flygon's breathing rapidly becomes slower to the point where she seems fine and dandy.

“W-what the heck?” I exclaim.

“What is it, Ria?” asks Bianca.

“How on earth did Flygon recover so fast, after using that attack?”

Bianca shares another tactical secret with me, “Flygon ate a White Herb. With that, she regains her energy much faster.”

“I... see...” I say. White Herb, huh? Well, considering Braviary's most effective fighting style so far has him throwing his power around with various high-energy attacks, I should take this under advisement.

“Anyway, that means Flygon's next Draco Meteor will be just as powerful as the first.” Of course Bianca isn't gonna say anything to bring down her opponent, but I can just feel she wants to add a cocky 'Are you ready to lose, Ria?'

So, Flygon uses that mega-powerful Draco Meteor attack, and the White Herb allows her to perform it again and again, minimizing the strength she loses as a result. Now I see why Bianca made Flygon her trump card; That's a pretty good stratagy.

Things don't look too good right now, but I as long as I have a Pokemon that's almost at full strength, I'll believe we still have a chance!

“Let's do this, Cinccino!” I send out the Scarf Pokemon.

“Ci~in!” Cinccino yawns, clearly just recovering from Musharna's Hypnosis.

“That Flygon is Bianca's last Pokemon,” I say, “Are you ready to win this thing?”

“Cino!” Cinccino exclaims.

Bianca, clearly not taking Flygon's smaller, not very tough-looking opponent lightly (so much for small mercies), commands, “Once again, Flygon! Fly!”

“Gooon!” Flygon flaps her wings, and starts to rise.

“Attack, Cinccino!” I shout, “Don't let Flygon get outta your reach!”

“Cin!” Rapidly covering ground, Cinccino dashes toward Flygon. He opens his mouth, and fires a salvo of tiny green energy blasts at the Mystic Pokemon: a grass-type technique he'd gained since his evolution, Bullet Seed.

“Flamethrower!” Bianca says.

Flygon takes a deep breath, and blows out a stream of flames, which swallows up and cancels out Cinccino's grass-type energy bullets.

As Flygon is busy countering Cinccino's attack, however, the Scarf Pokemon performs a quick front-flip, slams the ground with his tail, and catapults himself up to and above Flygon.

“Great, Cinccino!” I exclaim, “Now Slam her!”

“Fly?” Flygon looks up just in time to see Cinccino descend on her, and slam her across her face hard with his tail. Using the force of the attack to control his fall, Cinccino bounces off her head and clings to her back.

“Get him off you!” Bianca shouts up to Flygon, “Try doing a barrel roll!”

“Flyyy!” Flygon rises into the air, spiraling rapidly, while Cinccino desperately tries to hold on. However, the centrifugal force finally becomes too strong, and the Scarf Pokemon gets hurled off.

“Now, use Dragon Tail!”

While Cinccino is in midair, Flygon quickly flies above him, and, with her tail glowing with dragon-type energy, she performs an aerial flip, slamming the normal-type from above, and sending him plummeting back to the ground, slamming him into the earth.

“Cin...” Cinccino groans.

“You alright?” I ask Cinccino, “Hang in there!”

“Cino...” Cinccino slowly gets back to his feet, just as Flygon stop rising, and hovers in midair.

“Okay, Flygon! Let's win this battle!” declares Bianca, “Draco Meteor!”

Once again, Flygon fires down a massive orb of dragon-type energy, which splits into a localized meteor shower.

“Take evasive action!” I shout.

As the meteors come crashing down, Cinccino quickly dashes around the battlefield, narrowly dodging them with a series of fast movements and acrobatic maneuvers. Being my smallest and fastest Pokemon has its advantages. However, just as I think Cinccino is about to completely dodge the technique, Flygon sends down another shower to follow up the first, and I know it's only a matter of time until one of of those blasts finds a target. Still, Cinccino is handling it well enough to give me time to think.

Okay... How to counter Draco Meteor, a dragon-type technique. I guess a good place to start is to recall what I know about dragon-types: They are weak to ice-type attacks and dragon-type attacks; Other than that, they're weak against nothing, plus being resistant to fire, water, grass, and electric attacks. On the other hand, while no other Pokemon types are weak to dragon-type attacks, none of them are strong against them either... except one: steel-types. Now, looking at this in terms of attacks, ice-type attacks would just rip through those meteors, but Cinccino does know any, nor does he know any dragon-type attacks, a collision of which would result in an explosion. However, Cinccino does know Iron Tail, a steel-type attack, an attack type which won't annihilate those blasts... but can overpower them, provided he and Flygon are about equal, power-wise, and seeing how this battle has gone so far, it's possible. Still, how to use it...

I scan the situation, watching Cinccino just barely dodge a couple more meteors, and then watching Flygon as she performs another Draco Meteor attack, and finally watching them rain down on the battlefield. I need to find a way to reverse this situa-- I stop short as inspiration dawns on me. 'Reverse... this situation...' That's it!

“Cinccino!” I shout, receiving a glance from the Scarf Pokemon as he dashes past, “Counter with Iron Tail!” I point up at Flygon.

Seeming to get my message, Cinccino responds, “Cino!” He stops running, and looks up at an approaching blast as his tail starts to glow with silver energy.

I look across the arena at Bianca, who seems less than thrilled that I thought of a possible countermeasure.

Cinccino jumps up toward the blast and swings his tail into it. There is a loud snapping sound as the two attacks connect, and the meteor is sent flying in the opposite direction... toward Flygon. Having hit the surface of Cinccino's tail, the energy composing the meteor becomes unstable, but it finds its target, just as it explodes.

“Flyyyyyyyyyygooooooon!” Flygon screeches as it gets caught in the explosion of dragon-type energy, and steam pours from her body.

“Ah!” Bianca exclaims in shock.

“Way to go, Cinccino! Way to go!” I cheer, “Now keep 'em coming, while we still have an attack to counter!”

“Cinccino!” Cinccino leaps all over the battlefield, reflecting meteors back at Flygon. The Mystic Pokemon manages to dodge a few, but she's not flying as fast as she was before, probably having used Draco Meteor so many times in succession that the White Herb isn't gonna completely cure her fatigue anytime soon.

Finally, one of the meteors catches the Mystic Pokemon's wing, and she spirals back to the ground, leaving a steam trail in her wake.

“No! Flygon!” yells Bianca.

“Finish this, Cinccino!” I shout, “One more Iron Tail!”

“Cin!” Cinccino catapults himself into the air, and flies up toward Flygon, slamming her head with his tail as they pass in midair.

Flygon hits and tumbles across the ground, and she doesn't even try to recover when she stops. I think that's that.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Bianca holds out Flygon's Pokeball, and says, “Return,” recalling the Mystic Pokemon. With that, the battle is over.

After Cinccino lands, I shout out, “We did it, Cinccino! We won!”

“Cino cino!” Cinccino runs over to me, and perches himself on my shoulder.

Bianca approaches me with an outstretched hand, “... Good match, Ria...”

“Yeah, good match,” I say, shaking my friend's hand.

Bianca looks at the ground and lets out a melancholy sigh.

“What's wrong?” I ask.

“First Cheren, and now you,” says Bianca, “I lost to both of you. I guess this means I'm the... um... least strong out of us.”

“Whoa, don't say that!” I say, “You almost won both battles! I mean, you were pretty much equal against both of us. It's just that someone had to win those matches... and it just happened to Cheren and me. It doesn't mean you're any weaker than us.”

“Cin cin,” Cinccino adds.

Still staring at the ground, Bianca smiles and says, “Still, you are really amazing, Ria. I mean, back when we started, I never thought you'd become nearly as powerful as you are now in less than one summer vacation...”

“Yeah, I'm surprised too,” I say, “Still, don't get yourself down, Bianca. As a trainer, I think you are...” I think for a second, and come up with the first words I can think of in regards to some of the strategies Bianca used, “... surprisingly cutthroat.”

Bianca stares at me and blinks a couple times, “... Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Yeah, I mean, having Musharna use Hypnosis and force me to switch-out, having Tyranitar attack as soon as Magmortar was sent out, those relentless Draco Meteor attacks... you sure didn't hold back.”

Bianca lets out a short chuckle, “I guess I didn't.”

“Anyway, let's head back to Iccirus City and get our Pokemon patched up, alright?”

Bianca nods, “Okay.”

I spray Cinccino's wounds with a potion, so he'll be in fighting shape if any wild Pokemon show up, and the three of us walk back in the direction of Iccirus City.

---

As we walk along the forest path between the field and Iccirus City, I tell Bianca the unabridged version of last night's events, “... and then that Gorm dude sent out this sinister-looking ghost-thing called Gengar, and a blue alligator-ish Pokemon called Feraligatr, and--”

“... What's an 'alligator?'” asks Bianca, cutting in.

“Beats me.”

Bianca smiles, “Anyway, I bet Gallade and Magmortar beat them easily, didn't they?”

“You know it!”

Bianca chuckles and says, “That's really cool, Ria. I remember when I used to run into any situation where Team Plasma was causing trouble, and you or Cheren had to get me out of it... I really overestimated myself, didn't I?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” I bluntly say with a slight shrug, “Still, I guess that says good things about you. If it were you fighting that Sage at the museum last night, I know you would have won too. You've become so much more powerful since then. We all have.”

“Thank you,” says Bianca, “... You know, I sort of wish I was the one caught up in this Team Plasma business, instead of you.”

“Don't,” I say, “It's made my life way more complicated, when all I wanna do is travel and have friendly, civilized Pokemon battles.”

“... Pokemon battles are civilized?” asks Bianca.

“Er... you know what I mean.”

“Anyway, I'd given some thought to what I should do with my life, seeing as... well... I've made some... surprising achievements as a trainer, and ever since I'd become one, I'd tried to use my power to help people in trouble, like when they're being attacked by Team Plasma.”

“Okay, I see where you're going,” I say, “Well, maybe you should be the one in my shoes, since you're the save-the-day superheroine, apparently...”

“Teehee. You're funny, Ria,” Bianca giggles, “But no, I don't want to take your place. After all, you're the one who got that Legendary Pokemon rock... thingamajig, and I'm sure you wanna see it through, right? Besides, you beat me, so you should be the one to fight such an important battle.”

“Well, it's not like I asked for this, but you may have a point,” I say, “After all, it's not everyday you get a Legendary Pokemon... and fine, I'll admit it; it's kinda exciting, even if the fate of the whole freaking region is depending on me.”

“Anyway, I'd been thinking about training to join the International Police after I graduate next year.”

“Doesn't sound half-bad,” I say, “With your skills... and your talent in the art of disguise, apparently, I'd say you can make the cut.” International Police, huh? I try to imagine what 'Agent Bianca' would look like in a tailored black suit.

“What about you, Ria?” asks Bianca, “Have you thought about what to do with your life?”

“Well, beating N and foiling Team Plasma for starters,” I say, “and assuming that Zekrom decides to wake up, and help me win, I guess I'll just keep going as I am now.”

“So, you want to become Champion?” asks Bianca.

“Yes and no,” I answer, “That's Cheren's dream, not mine. To me, it's just a point to shoot for; to compete over. I love my Pokemon, I love battling, I love journeying, and I'm sure I'm doing well enough to make a living doing this, so why not just wander the world and look for tough opponents? Fun and uncomplicated... Doesn't sound like a bad life to me.”

“Wow, you're so... adventurous,” marvels Bianca, “But... what if you lose and we aren't allowed to have Pokemon anymore?”

“Oh c'mon, I'm trying to be optimistic here,” I half-joke, “Well, I haven't really thought about that. Run away with my Pokemon to another region where it isn't illegal, I guess, train, and have a rematch when Team Plasma decides to take over the Pokemon League there. Heh... Hey, it's a thought, anyway. Still, I really hope to win here, since it would suck to not be allowed to be a trainer in my home region.”

Bianca puts a hand on my shoulder, and looks at me with a determined expression, “Ria... I'll do whatever I can to make sure you'll stop them. Let's win our last badges, and go to the Pokemon League together. You said Team Plasma's king wants you to challenge him, but the Sages have different plans... so I'll do whatever I can to protect you, and make sure you have that match.”

“Thanks,” I say gratefully, putting my hand over Bianca's, “You really are the best friend I could ever hope for...”

“Cino...” Cinccino says, looking envious.

“Don't worry,” I say, “You and the others are my best friends too.” I'm starting to feel like I can't ever let my guard down verbally when one of my Pokemon are present.

“So, Opelucid Gym is your last Gym?” Bianca asks.

“Yeah.”

“I see. In that case, you'll be fighting Drayden.”

“I know,” I say, “Alder told me.”

“In that case, our battle is probably just what you needed. Draco Meteor is the single most powerful dragon-type attack, and since Opelucid Gym is your last Gym, you'll probably be seeing that attack during your battle, so you've gained a big advantage by knowing how to counter it.”

“Hey, thanks for the heads-up,” I say, “I'll keep that in mind. As for Clay, ground-types are his forte, and all, but when Cheren and I fought a tag battle against him, he used all dual-typed ground Pokemon, so be prepared for anything, I guess.”

Bianca nods, “Okay. I'll remember that.” She then changes the subject, “Oh yeah. Guess who I ran into not long before I went to look for you.”

“Um... Your dad?” I guess, ninety-seven-point-five percent sure that I'm wrong.

“No,” says Bianca, “Skyla. Guess who she was looking for.”

“Cheren?”

“That's right. I told her to look for him in Opelucid City. Why do you think she's looking for him, Ria?” Bianca asks dreamily, “Do you think it's something romantic?”

“Maybe,” I say, “Can't say for sure, though. I doubt Cheren's the first guy she's ever flirted with.”

“Maybe you're right,” says Bianca, “But that doesn't mean she can't have a one-and-only someone.”

“Aren't you the romantic?” I say, “Well, if you wanna know what I think, I guess they'd make a cute-ish couple...”

“You think so too?”

“Maybe. At any rate,” I say, “We have more important stuff to worry about, so let's just head back to Iccirus, get our Pokemon healed, and get this show on the road!”

“Okay!”

TEAM UPDATE:


Alright. I'm back in business, though 'business' is slow, like it's usually been nowadays. Anyway, this installment marks the story's second big rival battle. They're fun to write, but man, are they hard to put together. Usually, I have a few specific parts in mind, but I need to figure out how to connect them together. Regardless, I hope you found it exciting and enjoyable.
I was planning on making this installment larger, but I just thought you guys had been waiting long enough, and this seemed like a good place to leave off at anyway.

Last edited by Valin on Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Right, well, I feel obliged to comment here (I always do).
My first instinct was to vote for Ria; as the main character, I guess we see the most of her. But she is a really awesome character, though I guess most of that is through the situations she gets herself into... the bit about her overcoming her fears about Dark-types was cool, and she got through it herself.
Regarding this chapter, that was a pretty awesome battle there (though not much else happened, I admit.) The part where Marowak dodges the Heat Crash was completely unexpected, and I loved the tiny Cinccino beating huge Draco Meteors back at the unbeatable Flygon. That was a triumph!
I await eagerly the next installment.

Ah,real world animals in Pokemon. I will remember that quote for a long time.

For lack of a better term, where did Bianca 'level up' Larvitar so quickly?

Opelucid Gym...

“Dragonite! Use Outrage! Go all out, got it?”

“Draaaa!” The Dragonite envelopes itself in dragon energy, and charges through the snow-filled arena at its target.

“Hmph. Is that it?” Cheren asks, mostly to provoke his opponent, Opelucid Gym's Vice-Leader, Iris, “Froslass, use Double Team!”

“Lass!” Froslass splits into seven images of herself, which disappear and reappear all throughout the snowstorm filling the arena, and all Dragonite finds itself able to attack are the nearest images of Froslass, real or not, not that it matters, because they always fade before it can land a hit anyway.

“Gr! Stupid Mr. Four-eyes! That's not fair!” Iris yells, “Snow Cloak and Double Team? How is anyone supposed to win against that?”

“Ask 'Miss Bianca,'” says Cheren, “She found a way without losing a single Pokemon.”

“Really?” asks Iris with a satisfied smile across her face, despite her frustration at Cheren, “That's great! I was so right about her!”

“... However, I still won that battle.”

“Argh! You...”

“Don't act so surprised,” says Cheren, “After all, I'm ahead four to two in this battle. Is this seriously a six badge battle? I'm a little disappointed.”

Angered, Iris yells out to Dragonite and her other active Pokemon, Salamence, “Dragonite! Salamence! We're not gonna let him get away with this insult! Both of you, ignore Froslass for now and focus on Electivire, got it!”

“Draaaa!”

“Meeeence!” The two dragon/flying-type Pokemon turn their attentions toward Cheren's other Pokemon, a humanoid Pokemon, six feet tall, covered in yellow fur with black stripes, with a pair of short antennae extending from its head, two black tails with red tips, and large forearms: Electivire, the Thunderbolt Pokemon, an electric-type, and the final form of the Elekid Cheren caught.

Dragonite, still in the middle of its Outrage attack, charges at Electivire head-on, while the Salamence swoops down with one of its claws glowing dark-blue, preparing to deliver a Dragon Claw attack to the Thunderbolt Pokemon's back.

Cheren commands, “Electivire, counter Dragonite with Ice Punch. Froslass, cover Electivire.”

As Dragonite is about to tear into Electivire, the electric-type bolts forward, sinking her fist, radiating ice-type energy, into its gut, resulting in light blue flames pouring out. At the same time, Froslass appears in front of Salamence with her arm extended, and fires an Ice Beam right into the dragon/flying-type's open mouth.

“Niiiite!”

“Mee-ee-eence!” Dragonite staggers back, clutching its gut, as it falls to the ground, while Salamence coughs out light-blue flames and faints.

“Come on! Get up!” Iris shouts out to her two downed Pokemon, neither of whom respond.

“It's over,” says Cheren, “We've won.”

“Fros.”

“Vire!”

With a frustrated grunt, Iris recalls Dragonite and Salamence.

“Nicely done,” Cheren congratulates Froslass and Electivire, holding out their respective Pokeballs, “You've flawlessly won this battle, and you deserve a well-earned rest.”

“Fros.”

“Vire.” Froslass and Electivire nod at Cheren as he recalls them.

Iris walks toward Cheren, muttering, “Damn it... Mr. Drayden's gonna yell at me when he finds out about this, I just know it...”

Deciding to take what Iris just said as an opportunity, Cheren says, “Iris, you can just claim that you lost, nothing-to-one against me, and I will back up your claim, if approached, on one condition.”

“What is it?” says Iris, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

“You stop calling me 'Mr. Four-eyes,' and start calling me 'Cheren...' or 'Mr. Cheren,' if you will.”

“Okay, fine, 'Mr. Cheren,'” barks Iris, as she throws a Legend Badge at Cheren's chest, which he grabs, and pins to his jacket, “I hate to admit it but you earned that. Now get outta here!” Iris storms off to the far end of the gymnasium-sized room.

“Happily,” says Cheren, having gotten a grim pleasure out of making Iris look like a fool. The extra time spent training had really paid off, if only for this.

He turns and walks across the Gym, located underneath Opelucid City Hall, and heads to the entrance. Near the doorway out, he sees a girl with mid-back length magenta hair and sky-blue eyes, wearing somewhat ratty jeans and a blue t-shirt emblazoned with a red silhouette of a well-known, extremely rare Pokemon called Latias, and the words, 'Fly Sky High.' He glances at her, figuring her for another challenger, taking a brief mental note of how cute she is, and continues walking, until she says, “What? Are you not gonna say hello, handsome? You're mean.”

“What?” Cheren stops short, and then does a double-take. He only knows one person who calls him 'handsome,' and looking at the girl again, he actually recognizes her, though not as he remembers her, “... Skyla?” He blushes slightly, recalling the kiss on the cheek she gave him, “Sorry, I didn't recognize you without your aviator outfit and your hair done up.”

“I'll forgive you this time,” says Skyla, “So, long time, no see, handsome. I see you haven't forgotten me, despite the countless women who've no doubt thrown themselves at you.”

“You'd... be surprised how few have...” says Cheren, realizing he could have come up with something a lot wittier, “So... what brings you here?”

“Oh, I was just spending the last few weeks doing my duty as a Gym Leader,” Skyla explains, as she and Cheren head out of the Gym and through a corridor leading up to the City Hall's lobby, “Despite enjoying battles as much as I do, fourteen straight losses against fledgling trainers isn't good for a girl's ego, so I decided to take a day off. I decided to go around and look for the best-looking guy to ever challenge my Gym. I went to Iccirus City, and ran into your good friend, Bianca, who told me to come to Opelucid City. I started by for you at the Pokemon Center, but you weren't there, so I rode around on Swanna, searching the hot training spots, only to learn just how elusive you are. Finally, I decided to look here, and lo and behold. Great show, by the way. I'm not very fond of that little brat either; she always calls me 'Miss Birdbrain.' Pretty original, huh?”

“Really?” laughs Cheren, “I don't know what the girl's deal is. She just seems to like some people and hate others. She loves Bianca for some reason, calling her 'Miss Bianca,' but she hates Ria and me, calling us 'Miss Smart-mouth' and 'Mr. Four-eyes.'”

“Don't let her get to you,” says Skyla, “I like your glasses. They make you look smart and... kinda cool at the same time.”

“Really?” asks Cheren, “I mean, I like my glasses too. I could have gone for contact lenses, but I thought I looked too 'plain' with them, so I just kept wearing these. Still, no one's ever said I looked 'cool' for wearing them. So... thanks.”

“You're welcome,” says Skyla, “Well, wanna head back to the Pokemon Center and get a late victory lunch. My treat.”

Cheren's face flushes as he gives Skyla a nervous sideways glance. Is... she asking me out on a date?

Skyla grins at Cheren, “I know what you're thinking, handsome; it's written all over your face: 'Is she asking me out on a date,' right?”

“... Something to that effect,” Cheren admits.

“Well, you can look at it however you want; You can see it as a date, or just an acquaintance treating you for a job well-done.”

“... I think it's best if I look at it as the latter,” Cheren sighs, “No offense, Skyla, but I really don't know you that well.”

“Sounds good,” says Skyla, “At least you didn't do something completely cliché and offer to pay instead.”

Actually, the thought had crossed Cheren's mind, but he decides to keep it to himself.

As the walk through the corridor back to the city hall's lobby, Cheren notices a slight tremor in Skyla's hands, even though the rest of her seems composed enough. Hm... strange...

---

At the Opelucid Pokemon Center, Cheren hands in his Pokemon (just Froslass and Electivire, actually, as they were the only two Pokemon that he used against Iris) to be healed. Afterward, he and Skyla buy a couple salads at a restaurant a couple blocks away from the Center, and they sit at a table on a wooden patio.

Skyla stares across the table at Cheren, and he figures she's waiting for him to start a conversation.

“So... um...” A thought crosses his mind. He doesn't know if it's an appropriate question, considering the circumstances, but he says it before he can stop himself, “Why did you come here, looking for me? I mean, considering your personality, I doubt I'm the only person you've ever tried making a pass on, and... ah...” Cheren stops himself, realizing what he just said could be taken as a very offensive statement, “... sorry.”

“No, it's fine,” says Skyla, reassuringly, “You're right. I've acted this way around many male challengers; It's just the way I am. If you want the truth, while you are definitely cute, I was just... wondering about you. I mean, not many of my challengers are in...” Skyla carefully tries to find her next words, “... in your situation.”

Whatever awkwardness Cheren is feeling in the situation is replaced by displeasure. “So... you came because you felt sorry for me?” he asks in a stern voice.

Stunned by Cheren's reaction, Skyla responds, “Well... yes.”

Cheren shakes his head, “The only people who know about my condition are you, a handful of doctors, my parents, and Ria, only because she was around when I had one of my attacks. What you're doing right now is the very thing I'm trying to avoid: I don't want people worrying about me or giving me their pity! I want to live as ordinary a life as possible, and not be treated like some invalid! I thought I told you this!”

“I... I'm sorry,” stutters Skyla, “But... if you're getting so defensive about it, why'd you tell a complete stranger like me?”

“It was because I...” Cheren sighs, “Because I was afraid of what your advances on me might mean, and I was desperate to make you stop. Plus, at the time, I never imagined I was going to see you again past that day, so I saw little harm in it...”

“I get what you mean,” says Skyla, “Look, I didn't mean to upset you. However, let me ask you one thing: How did you feel when you told me?”

Cheren blinks a couple times, “Excuse me?”

“How did you feel sharing it? Awkward? Sad? Anything?”

Cheren takes a long time time to reflect and come up with an answer. Just what did he feel when he told Skyla and Ria about his condition? Despite Skyla's carefree attitude, she's surprisingly insightful.

After close to a minute Cheren says, “I don't really know for sure. I suppose it was... awkward, seeing as I never share that, but... another part of me felt sort of... good.”

“How so?”

Cheren shakes his head and sighs, “Why are you asking this? Who are you trying to be? My psychiatrist?”

“I just feel better when I share my problems with people,” says Skyla, “It makes me feel relieved.”

“I suppose that's as close a word as I can place to it...” says Cheren, “'...relieved.'”

“See?” says Skyla, “It's not too bad sharing it with at least some people.”

“I guess not,” says Cheren, leaning back in his seat, “I just don't want everybody knowing about it. You can still keep it a secret, can't you?”

“My lips are sealed,” says Skyla with a wink, “But if you wanna talk to someone about it, you can talk to me, alright?”

“I'll keep that in mind.”

“So, if you want, let's talk about it. How much longer do you think you have left to live?”

“Until I'm about forty...”

“In that case, you're not even halfway through your life yet. You know what that means?”

“What?”

“Come on! Progress is made everyday! Maybe a cure for the virus will be discovered before that time comes. The future's possibilities are endless, and maybe, just maybe, there's hope just around the corner.”

Cheren is silent for several seconds, “... You may have a point, Skyla. I'll try to believe in there being hope sooner or later, but I can't just change overnight.”

“I understand,” says Skyla, “I wake up every morning, happy to be alive, looking forward to the next thing my life will bring. Because of this, I want to live as long as I possibly can, but then I met you, and I realized how much better I've had it than other people, and I...” Skyla smiles down at her salad, “I just want to help make your life, whatever's left of it, be fun and enjoyable as well.”

Cheren blinks a couple times, “Skyla...”

“I get what you're saying about you not wanting people to worry about you, but... is it so bad to have at least one friend to share your problems with?”

Cheren shakes his head, “No. Actually, if feels nice to have a discussion about this. Thank you, Skyla, and I'm sorry about yelling at you before.”

“It's fine,” says Skyla with a dismissive wave, “I came here hoping you'd accept me as a friend, and it seems like you have...” Suddenly, she reverts to her regular demeanor, and gives Cheren a flirtatious grin, “... Though if you want a pretty little sweetheart, I'll be first in line, hon!”

There is a short pause, and then Cheren starts laughing, followed by Skyla. Their laughter lasts for about a minute, until Cheren calms down enough to say, “That's good to know. I'll consider that offer.”

“It's a limited time offer, though. After all, there are many Quilfish in the sea.”

Cheren and Skyla further make their way through their salads, with little conversation. Cheren wonders what else he could talk to Skyla about, when he remembers something, “... Hey, Skyla?”

“Yes?”

“Um... When we were on our way out of the Gym, I... saw you shaking a bit. Were you alright?”

Skyla blushes slightly, and she stares down at her salad, “Wow... Good eye... Well, I'm sure you haven't paid any attention to this, but that was the first time you'd seen me indoors, wasn't it?”

“Huh?” Skyla's right, Cheren hadn't paid any attention to that fact, but now that she mentions it, it was the first time he'd not seen her outside. Still, what does that have to do with...? An idea occurs to him. It was such a narrow passageway, and seeing as Skyla's Gym is just an outdoors battlefield, as opposed to a building... “Are you... claustrophobic?”

“Yep...” Skyla answers, “Ever since I was little. I guess you can say my case was especially bad...”

“That explains something,” says Cheren, “Why you like flying so much. I can't think of a lot of places more open than the sky.”

“Very true,” says Skyla, “My granddad was Mistralton's Gym Leader before I was, and he introduced me to flying when I was just three years old...” The nostalgia makes her smile, “I still remember how I felt. The excitement, the liberating feeling.”

After a few seconds of hesitation, Cheren asks, “Um... Did he knock you off your Pokemon, like you did to me during your first flight?”

Skyla laughs, “Haha! No... Well, not right away, at least. It wasn't until I raised the first Pokemon of my own, Swanna, that he put me through that trial.”

“How did you react to that?”

Skyla finishes off her salad, “It was scary... then exciting when it was clear that Swanna would never let anything happen to me, at which point, I started skydiving all the time...”

Before Skyla can continue her story, she feels a raindrop, then Cheren does as well. They look up and see that, despite how nice the day was before, rainclouds just rolled in. Gradually, the rainfall becomes more rapid.

“... Maybe we should go inside,” says Cheren.

“Nah, I should get back to Mistralton City,” says Skyla, “It's almost 6:00, so it's getting pretty late.” She stands up, puts a couple fingers to her lips, and lets out a loud whistle. Almost immediately, six flying Pokemon swoop down: Swanna, an Altaria, a shining metal bird Pokemon called Skarmory, a purple bat-like Pokemon with scorpion-like characteristics called Gliscor, a large green dragonfly-like Pokemon called Yanmega, and a gray dinosaur Pokemon called Aerodactyl.

“Don't you usually travel with several more Pokemon than that?” Cheren asks.

“Oh, the Pokemon League gave me special permission to have all my Pokemon around, as long as I'm within Mistralton City limits,” explains Skyla, “but since I'm not in Mistralton City, I can only have my seven-badge team with me.”

“Still, do you really want to fly home in the rain?” asks Cheren, “You could catch a cold. My next stop is Iccirus City, and it's along the way to Mistralton, so maybe we could take the subw--” Cheren stops himself, remembering Skyla's claustrophobia, and that she probably wouldn't handle a subway ride too well, “Oh... Right.”

“Aw, that's so sweet of you,” says Skyla, climbing on Swanna's back and grinning back at Cheren, “But my immune system is too strong for that!”

“If you say so...”

“Well, let's go on another date... or plain old friendly rendezvous, again sometime soon.”

Cheren smiles, “Heh. I look forward to it.”

“One more thing...” says Skyla, smiling impishly, “When you got so offensive about me worrying about you, was it just because you wanted to be treated as an equal, or did you also not want me treating you as anything other than a man?”

“Er...” Cheren stands, stunned. That thought didn't quite cross his mind, but at the same time, it doesn't sound half-bad...

Skyla laughs, “Haha! Just kidding. Alright, Swanna! We're off! Later, handsome!”

Skyla and Swanna take to the sky, followed by Altaria, Skarmory, Gliscor, Yanmega, and Aerodactyl.

“Um... later...” As Cheren watches Skyla and her Pokemon become smaller and smaller in the sky, a slight grin spreads across his face and he feels elated. A date, huh? Hopefully another will be sooner, rather than later.

With his meal finished, and his business in Opelucid City concluded, he picks up Froslass and Electivire, and then heads to the Route 9-Opelucid checkpoint to take a subway, en route to Iccirus City.

---

Bianca and I headed back to the Pokemon Center in Iccirus City, healed our Pokemon, and then went our separate ways, with Bianca hopping on Flygon's back and flying south to Driftveil City, while I decide to go it by foot to Route 8, en route to Opelucid City. It would've been a short flight on Braviary's back, but seeing as I'd gone along all the Routes by foot so far, what's a couple more? Besides, having flown from Nacrene City to Iccirus City, I think I'd done enough flying for one day, not to mention that wild Pokemon and traveling trainers means a little more training, and I'll need as much as I can get for my upcoming battles with Drayden and N.

According to the Town Map, the path from Iccirus City to Opelucid City goes along Route 8, across the Tubeline Bridge, which, along with the Skyarrow Bridge and Driftveil Drawbridge, is another one of Unova's five bridges, and that's followed by Route 9, which is just a straight path, kinda like Route 1, only a little longer. From there, it's straight into Opelucid City. If I had to guess, I'd make it by this evening, or by morning, after camping for the night, not that I learned to enjoy it, but whatever.

Route 8 is a wide-open grassy wilderness path with lush pine woodland located on either side of it. Another defining characteristic of the area, however, are the small ponds that dot the place. Apparently, with so many bodies of water at the ready, this place is a popular location for trainers with purely sea-bound water-type Pokemon. As a result, there is no shortage of trainers looking for a battle, and as trainers go, these guys a complete warmongers, insisting I battle them, just so said water-types can see some action, even if they have much fewer badges than I do. As such, I have tons of battles along the way... way more than I thought I would, which is good from a training standpoint, but I end up losing a ton of time, and it becomes more likely it will be dark before I reach Opelucid City.

However, my convictions about making my entire journey by foot are proven fragile, when, at about 6:00 in the afternoon, some thick rainclouds roll in, turning the originally sunny and breezy day into a wet and chilly one, and before I know it, I'm on Braviary's back, flying to my destination, hopefully arriving before I come down with something.

Now, getting to the present, Braviary and I are about 800 feet off the ground. Below us is a wide expanse of water, colored gray from its reflection off the sky, and cutting along it is the Tubeline Bridge, which I know got its name from the fact that it was a bridge modified from the olden days to be hollowed out for a subway line to run through it, as opposed to spending several months, maybe even a year, to dig a tunnel underneath the river.

Once we clear the river, it's just a small stretch of land, and then we'll be in Opelucid City!

“We're almost there,” I tell Braviary, “Only, like, a half-hour to go.”

“Bravi--” Braviary calls out, before being abruptly interrupted by a blast of dark-blue energy, which shoots down from above and a few feet in front of us, causing the Valiant Pokemon to bank sharply to the right, narrowly avoiding the shot. I grip tightly to the bases of Braviary's wings to avoid being thrown off. Man, that scared the crap outta me!

“What the?” I look up to see where the dragon-type attack came from, and see a shape in the sky: a black dragon, six wings, three heads. I quickly recognize it as a Hydreigon, and I know one person who owns the dark/dragon-type, who just might want to suddenly attack us like this!

Hydreigon swoops down and flies alongside us to our left. I'm given a clear look at its rider, and it's exactly who I think it is: “Ghetsis!”

“So, we meet again, young lady,” says Ghetsis, giving me a kindly smile, which I interpret as condescending.

“What do you want?” I shout.

“Braviii!” Braviary screeches.

“That's a rude greeting,” says Ghetsis, “If I remember correctly, the last time wet met, in Castelia City, we were on much friendlier terms.”

“Oh, I saw you once since then,” I say, “In Driftveil City, where you blackmailed Clay, and seeing as you're one of Team Plasma's Sages, I don't exactly trust you... And oh yeah, I almost forgot; You just tried to kill us about fifteen seconds ago. Luckily, your Hydreigon's a crappy shot.”

“Dreeeiiii!” Hydreigon furiously roars.

“It doesn't matter,” says Ghetsis, “Let's get down to business, shall we? I come today to retrieve the Dark Stone from you.”

“The... 'Dark Stone?'” Is that the official name for Zekrom's stone, or something...? Whatever, I'm still calling it the Zekrock. It's catchier.

“That is correct,” says Ghetsis, “Now that our king commands Reshiram, Zekrom is the only thing that can threaten us. Without the Deep Black Dragon, the great order of Team Plasma is invincible.”

“Well, tough crap, pal!” I exclaim, “You're not getting it.”

Ghetsis shakes his head in mock disappointment, “I was expecting such an answer. After all the battles you've won, you must think you're invincible... However, you would do well to know that no matter how powerful you become, there is always someone stronger.”

“Good. I love a battle against tough opponents, but you sure as heck aren't one of them, Ghetsis!”

“I assure you I'm nothing like the other six Sages. Besides Reshiram, my Pokemon are the strongest in Team Plasma. Let me show you...” Ghetsis raises his voice, “Hydreigon! Flamethrower!”

“Hyyyyyd!” Hydreigon's right head points toward us, and it breathes out a stream of fire.

“Look out!” Once again, Braviary makes a sudden and swift maneuver, just barely avoiding the attack, with a few of his feathers getting singed. The proximity to the flames immediately causes me to sweat, despite the chilly temperature.

Before I can give Braviary a counter-command, however, Hydreigon closes the distance between us, and all three of its heads chomps down hard on the Valiant Pokemon's left wing.

“Viiiii!” Braviary cries out painfully.

“Braviary!”

Right nearby is Ghetsis, giving me another condescending smile. Hydreigon opens its mouths, releasing Braviary. I look at where he was bitten, and see that his wing got mangled pretty bad, just before we begin to lose altitude... very fast.

I hang on tightly as Braviary starts to plunge headlong toward the river.

“Argh! Hang in there, Braviary!” I yell, pulling back on him, trying to do whatever I can to right him before we can crash.

“Braaaav!” Braviary cries out, desperately trying to flap his injured wing.

I glance up, hoping Ghetsis decided to kick back and watch the festivities. No such luck, unfortunately. Instead of seeing the Sage and Hydreigon, I see a large mass of dragon-type energy, and considering that I saw Bianca's Flygon perform the same attack just hours earlier, I know what's coming.

Sure enough, the mass explodes, and a Draco Meteor attack begins, with blasts of energy about to rain down on us, and unlike the small blasts Flygon sent down, Hydreigon's are pretty big!

Well-aware that Braviary has enough problems just trying to fly properly again, I shout, “Hydreigon's using Draco Meteor! Take evasive action!”

“Vi...” Braviary breaks into a spin, and begins to control his fall, moving haphazardly around, as meteors fall around us. All the while, the ground gets ever closer, and by 'ground' I mean the Tubeline Bridge, not the river! This could end up being messy...

With a desperate final flap, Braviary manages to right himself, going into a glide. Unfortunately, we're still moving very fast, and the surface of the bridge is just a few feet below us. The Valiant Pokemon tries to slow down, but only makes a little progress before colliding with the surface of the bridge and skidding across the ground. I try to hold on, but don't last long before the inertia throws me off, causing me to tumble several feet, and finally stopping flat on my back, only to see one of Hydreigon's meteors on a crash course on top of me.

“Wah!” I desperately roll to the side, and narrowly dodge the blast. It connects with one of the two lines of metal grating running along the bridge, separating the walkway on top from the subway tunnel below, and blows a hole in it. That was close. Looking up again, it seems the meteor I just dodged was one of the last ones for that attack.

“Ugh... Dammit...” I get to my feet, with several parts of my body aching. I don't feel like I broke anything, but I'm definitely going to get some gruesome-looking bruises. At least I didn't hit my head...

I look over at Braviary. I don't need to think it over; with one of his wings damaged, there's no way he can fly, and by extension, continue battling. I doubt anything short of a visit to the Pokemon Center will heal his wound.

I hold out Braviary's Pokeball, “Braviary! Return!” I recall the Valiant Pokemon. With Ghetsis clearly not through with me, I send out my next Pokemon, this one having an edge over Hydreigon's type, “Come out! Gallade!” Gallade appears.

“Llade!”

Hydreigon and Ghetsis descend down to the bridge. The Sage hops down from the dark/dragon-type's back, and positions himself under the Pokemon, minimizing the rain falling on him, “Nicely evaded, my dear. However, by now you should at least have a fair idea of what you're dealing with. I strongly suggest you save yourself further pain, and hand over the Dark Stone. If you do, I give you my word that I'll leave you in peace.”

I force out a scoff, “After repeatedly conning people into releasing their Pokemon, do you really think I'll believe anything you say?”

Ghetsis sighs, “Oh well. Have it your way, child...” His expression changes to a sly smirk, “However, do you really think the Dark Stone is of any use to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You really are naïve, aren't you? Zekrom is a top-class Legendary Pokemon... and you think you're worthy of him? Don't make me laugh.”

“Okay, if you think the 'Dark Stone' is useless to me, why are you even bothering to take it, huh?”

“A man of my meticulousness does not leave such matters to chance. As long as Zekrom is in the hands of anyone, except those of Team Plasma, it is a threat to us. Therefore, for the sake of our success, I shall take it off your hands.”

“Well, you aren't taking it without a fight,” I say, “Gallade! Get ready!”

Gallade assumes a battle stance and extends his elbow-blades, “Gall!”

“After that Draco Meteor attack, Hydreigon could use some rest, so I shall prepare another opponent for you...” Ghetsis reaches into his robe, and pulls out a Pokeball. Holding it palm-up in his hand, he flicks his wrist, tossing it into the air. When the capsule lands, there's a flash, and the Pokemon that appears is a Bisharp, just like the one that Shadow Triad guy used.

“Shaaaaaarp!” Like Gallade, Bisharp strikes a stance and extends its arm-blades.

“We can take it,” I encourage Gallade, “Use Brick Break!”

“Gallade!” Gallade's blades glow with fighting-type energy, and he leaps several feet into the air, poised to come down hard on Bisharp, while the Sword Blade Pokemon doesn't even attempt to dodge.

“Futile,” says Ghetsis.

Gallade swings down, while Bisharp tilts its head to the side, causing the attack to connect with the base of its neck. Even though there's steam, however, the Sword Blade Pokemon doesn't even flinch.

“What? Again?” I exclaim, as I give Bisharp a second analysis with my Pokedex. Well, I'm not mistaken, it's a dark/steel-type, which should have a critical weakness to fighting-type attacks, so why aren't they working?

Bisharp rears back and counterattacks with a powerful Slash attack. Luckily, Gallade quickly retreats, dodging the strike at the last second. The two Pokemon then proceed to practically dance throughout the section of the bridge between me and Ghetsis, with the constant sound of their blades colliding.

“You've seen this Bisharp before,” says Ghetsis, “You see, I lent him to a member of the Shadow Triad, my personal spies. Ever since Bisharp here was a mere Pawniard, ninety percent of his diet consisted of Chople Berries. Over time, his unfortunate weakness to fighting-type attacks diminished completely. I train my Pokemon to be worthy of me: perfect.”

“'Perfect?' Are you serious? Now who's the naïve one?”

“If you know exactly how you are going to raise a Pokemon as soon as you acquire one, it will become unbeatable. That is the reason why you cannot defeat me.”

I decide to ignore Ghetsis's taunt, and focus on the battle. Aware that fighting-type attacks are not the only techniques Bisharp should be weak against, I mentally cycle through the attacks in Gallade's arsenal, other than Brick Break and Close Combat: Slash, Psycho Cut, Shadow Sneak, Night Slash, Leaf Blade, Stone Edge, X-Scissor... None of those attacks are strong against Bisharp. In fact, most of them are ineffective! However, there is one out of them that should work: The bug-type attack, X-Scissor. Dark-types are weak to bug attacks, but steel-types are strong against them, so in the case of a dark/steel-type like Bisharp, the damage will be neutralized. Still, 'neutralized' is better than 'ineffective.'

“Gallade!” I call out, “Make X-Scissor your primary offense!”

“Galla!” Gallade's blades start to radiate light-green energy, as Bisharp charges in to attack. The Sword Blade Pokemon attempts a high slash, but Gallade manages to duck under the attack, and feint around his opponent, delivering two quick strikes to its flank and back. Bisharp winces upon taking damage.

“All right! It's working, Gallade! Keep it up!”

“Ah, very quick thinking,” Ghetsis mock-marvels as he adjusts his monocle, “It's time we stopped holding back.”

I roll my eyes, “That's so cliché.”

Ignoring my comment, Ghetsis commands, “Bisharp, finish this. Channel your hatred and use Frustration!”

“Bishaaaaaaaaaaarp!” Bisharp intensely screeches as its blades erupt with intense white energy. It lunges at Gallade and delivers a powerful slashing attack which the Blade Pokemon blocks. Their blades deadlock, but Bisharp gradually overpowers the psychic/fighting-type until he's off-balance. With him defenseless, the Sword Blade Pokemon delivers an attack with its other blade. It scores a direct hit and there's a bright white flash. The next thing I see is Gallade flying past me.

“Gallade!” I whirl around to see Gallade flying toward the hole in the bridge's grating Hydreigon's Draco Meteor attack previously created.

“Ah! Return!” I extend Gallade's Pokeball, and recall the psychic/fighting-type. I did it just in time too, since an outbound train roars by underneath.

As I return Gallade's Pokeball to my belt, and am about to grab another one, I hear Ghetsis say, “Now, Bisharp, use False Swipe.”

“Wh-what?” Since I have no Pokemon out, that means Ghetsis is commanding Bisharp to directly attack...

I whirl back to face Ghetsis and Bisharp, only to see the Sword Blade Pokemon right in front of me, with one of its blades reared back to strike.

SLASH!

The next instant, everything feels surreal. The first thing I see is blood dripping from Bisharp's blade. I look lower, and see a crimson streak diagonally across my torso, starting from below my left shoulder, and extending down to above my right thigh. As I watch the stain on my shirt become wider in bewilderment, a sharp pain suddenly blasts through my body, and I slump to my knees, “Ah... ah...” I watch my blood cascade down my legs and knees and drip into the bridge's grating. Bisharp just... It just...

I'd never seen so much of my own blood before. Is this... really happening?

I look up to see Ghetsis with a satisfied grin across his face, “Well done, Bisharp. Now, detain her while I retrieve her belongings.”

I'm snapped back to reality when I comprehend what Ghetsis just ordered Bisharp to do. I notice that Bisharp's attack, besides cutting through me, also cut through the strap of my supply bag and the buckle of my Pokeball belt! As I scramble to grab my things before Bisharp can, the dark/steel-type positions one of its blades millimeters away from my neck, stopping me short.

Ghetsis walks over to Bisharp and me and kneels down, picking up my supply bag and Pokeball belt. He opens my bag and looks inside, chuckling, “Hmhmhm... Now the Dark Stone is mine! With Zekrom out of the picture, my victory is assured.”

I'm about to shout, 'Give them back,' but I seriously doubt he's gonna listen to me if I do. Pressing my arms against my body, trying to keep as much blood as I can from escaping, I instead say, “N... doesn't want this...”

Ghetsis glances down at me, as if I'm a low-level bug-type, or something equally inconsequential from his point-of-view, “Our king is in an incorrect state of mind, and you, young lady, are the cause. Through his apparent interest and interactions with you, there's no mistake that you have been a corrupting influence on him, and thus, a cancer to Team Plasma's ambitions. Consider this your punishment.”

I grit my teeth hard and snarl, “You... scum...” Not the smartest thing to say to someone who has a deadly Pokemon that's one small motion away from slicing your jugular wide open, but if I'm going to die, I'm gonna be defiant to the end. I'm not giving Ghetsis any satisfaction... or so I tell myself, but even though I'm putting on my best angry face, my wound hurts a lot, and it's impossible to be in a situation like this without being acutely aware of one's own mortality. I mean, is this how it ends? Battling N... Hopefully traveling from region to region with my Pokemon... is that all about to be extinguished? The though makes my eyes well up. I can only imagine what my face looks like right now...

Ghetsis stares down at me and smirks, “The Shadow Triad dug up quite a bit of information about you, young lady... including some post-traumatic issues you had half a decade prior. I sent one of my agents after you, hoping to reopen that psychological wound, and keep you from interfering with us any further, but it appears I'd underestimated you. Even though your fear is there, it seems you're enduring it quite well. I'd be lying if I said I'm not at least a little impressed...”

I stay silent. What, am I supposed to thank him, or something?

Ghetsis slings the strap of my supply bag over his shoulder, and ties a knot to keep it from slipping off. Ghetsis wearing a pink bag... If I weren't leaking blood and Bisharp didn't have a blade to my neck, I'd probably be laughing right now. The Sage holds up my Pokeball belt, and closely examines it. I so want to lunge over, and snatch it back. As much as it sucks, he can take the Zekrock, but not my Pokemon! Still, if I move, my head is gone, and then who will take them back? Crap...

“It's rather funny...” says Ghetsis, “Trainers always throw around phrases promoting friendship and camaraderie between humans and Pokemon, claiming they are not mere tools, and yet, that's exactly how they're used. Servants, followers, gladiators... It's silly, really. Do you honestly consider the six Pokemon in these little balls to be your friends?”

“You're not fooling me with your lies again...” I growl, “I don't care... what you think... They're like family to me...”

Ghetsis chuckles and says, “Is that a fact?” He makes a slight gesture, and Bisharp pulls its blade away from my neck, and walks away.

I shakily get to my feet and suspiciously ask, “What are you doing?”

“Girl, seeing as the Dark Stone is no longer in your protection, you are not a threat to me anymore. Now then...” Ghetsis walks over to the side-rail of the bridge, and dangles my Pokeball belt over the river, “... allow me to put your... familial convictions to the test.” He releases his grip on the belt, and it falls to the river. At that moment, I get a massive adrenaline rush, and the next thing I know, I'm over the edge of the bridge as well, and plunging toward the river. Arceus, I wish I had a better idea than this...

Since the Tubeline Bridge is connected directly to the subway system, it's not as high up as most of the other bridges in Unova. As a result, the water isn't far enough below for the fall to be dangerous.

It's a well-known fact that Pokeballs release their inhabitants when they fall from a height of four feet or greater onto any surface, including water. However, while they're attached to a belt, that function is disabled, since, if I recall the Professor's lessons correctly, if all the Pokeballs burst open at once, and the Pokemon's matter overlaps each other as they materialize, bad stuff happens.

As I fall, I try to find where the belt is. I gotta get it very soon, because if the Pokeballs take in water, it's all over (I don't remember if I heard it from the Professor, or someone else, but apparently, the essential state Pokemon take inside Pokeballs doesn't commingle well with foreign matter), and I don't know for how long their seals are supposed to hold out.

I splash down, and luckily, the river is deep enough that I don't collide hard against the seafloor. However, the feeling of the water against my wound really causes it to sting, and I let out a scream, with several large air bubbles escaping from my mouth. I grit my teeth and swim back to the surface before I can drown.

I take a much-needed breath of air, and frantically look around for the Pokeball belt, Snubbull-paddling along with the current. Unfortunately, the limited light I have available isn't making that terribly easy.

After a few more seconds, I see a shape in the water, fourteen feet downstream. I swim toward it as fast as I can in my deteriorating physical state. I know exerting myself like I am isn't exactly helping stop the blood pouring from the large wound Bisharp inflicted, but screw it! Cinccino, Braviary, Gallade, Magmortar, Marowak, Absol... They're more important right now!

I reach the object, and sure enough, it's my Pokeball belt! I grab it, and try to hold it as I high as I can out of the water, while keeping myself afloat, a task that's getting harder and harder. Unfortunately, I'm not out of the proverbial forest yet. The nearest shore is a half-mile swim away, and there's no way I can make it before all my strength gives out and I drown. I try to think of a way to get over there. If I knew this would happen, I would have kept Dewott with me. Well, no good lamenting it now...

“Bascu!” I hear a sound from upstream, and my heartbeat rises. Oh crap, not good!

“Lin!”

“Bascu bascu!”

“Basculin!”

I look, and about thirty feet away, I see four green fish Pokemon with blue stripes eying me; Blue-striped Basculin (as opposed to the red-striped variety I saw at the lake outside Iccirus City), and they look hungry...

The four Basculin rapidly advance toward me, and I have only a few seconds until I'm fish chow!

When I'm wearing my Pokeball belt, I have a sixth sense of which Pokemon is where on it, but since I'm not, I don't, and the Basculin are advancing too quickly for me to figure it out, let alone consider my strategy! I just randomly grab one, and throw it as high as I can. I just gotta hope for the best, since none of my current Pokemon are adept at aquatic battling.

The capsule hits the water's surface, and the Pokemon that appears is Cinccino.

“C-cincci?” Cinccino questions when he appears, not expecting to find himself in water. Well, I guess my luck could have been worse. I can't imagine Magmortar would have an easy time battling in the water.

As soon as the Scarf Pokemon appears, the Basculin immediately come to a stop. It's clear they're not about to get their dinner without a fight.

The four Basculin dive underwater, but soon jump out, and converge on Cinccino.

“Ciiiiiiiiiiin!” Cinccino lets out a piercing cry, and the force of his Hyper Voice attack blows the four fish Pokemon a few feet upstream, giving me some time to think.

I glance toward the nearest shore, and an idea occurs to me. Sure, I don't have a water Pokemon to get me there, at least not at the moment, but might it be possible to briefly acquire one? I don't have my supply bag, and therefore, no Pokeballs to capture one of those Basculin with, and even if I did, I already have six Pokemon anyway, so it would immediately disappear, and enter the transfer system... but do I really need to capture one of them? I guess I could have Cinccino bully one of them into helping out, but I think there's an easier way...

“Cinccino,” I say wearily, “Use Attract... Get one of them to help... if you can.”

“Cino!” Cinccino's body emits a bright pink aura. Attract is a move which causes a Pokemon of one gender to suddenly become very charming to the other, essentially putting it under a love spell. I never really liked that move, feeling it's an extremely cheap way to undermine an opponent, but in this case, it could save our lives. Please, Arceus, be a pal! Let at least one of these Basculin be female...

… And my prayers are answered! Two of the Basculin's faces turn bright red, and they swim over to Cinccino. The Scarf Pokemon climbs onto the back of one of them, and using Bullet Seed, riddles the two male Basculin with blasts of grass-type energy, knocking them out. They bob unconsciously on the water's surface, and the current carries them away.

“Cinccino...” I say, “We gotta get to shore fast...”

Getting the message, Cinccino says something to the Basculin he's not riding and she swims over to me. I put my arm over her, Cinccino says some more stuff to his two love slaves, and the Basculin start to quickly swim for shore. With nothing trying to attack me now, my adrenaline rush fades, and I start feeling crappier and crappier. It feels like the blood pouring from my wound is really starting to catch up with me...

About five minutes later, the Basculin reach a muddy bank on the side of the river. I walk out of the water, and onto land, but, feeling so weak, my legs can just barely support the weight of my body, I fall backward to the ground.

“Cin cin!” With my injury now fully visible, Cinccino lets out some panicked cries.

I force a weak laugh for both of our benefits, “Heh... I guess I'd seen better days, huh?”

What can I do now? There's no way I'll be able to walk to Opelucid City in the state I'm in, and Braviary is too incapacitated to fly me there. The most obvious solution is to use my Xtransceiver, and call for help, but that's in my supply bag, and Ghetsis stole said bag, which also means no Pokedex, no empty Pokeballs, no rations, no potions or ethers, no tents, no changes of clothes, no nothing. All I have left are my Pokeball belt and my wallet, and by extension, my Pokemon, my money and my trainer card.

I'm so tired, dizzy, weak, and cold... Feel like crap. Even thinking is a chore, and that's exactly what I have to do right now. Even worse, I'm starting to feel too jaded to even care anymore. All I want to do is close my eyes and let whatever is supposed to happen happen.

“Cin...” I turn my head and see Cinccino with his eyes welled up and crying. Cinccino... This sight makes me remember it's not just about me, it never was. He fought to ensure my survival, and I can't just roll over without do my damnedest to make sure I keep living! Still, how to go about it?

I stare up at the cloudy sky, with the rain becoming more and more heavy. I try to think, even though the act of focusing is tough. Since I can't remotely call for help and Braviary can't fly me, the only thing I can think of is for someone to know I'm here and that I'm in trouble...

I continue gazing at the sky, with my mind repeatedly droning words like, 'someone,' 'trouble,' and 'help.' As it turns out, it's still within my dwindling mental capacity to feel inspired, as and idea comes to mind.

“Cincc... ino...” I whisper.

“Cino cino!” Cinccino says, concerned, as if to say, 'What is it? I'll do whatever you ask!'

“Send out... Magmortar... Red Pokeball...”

“Cin!” Cinccino looks over my Pokeball belt, and yanks Magmortar's capsule free of it. He tosses it up, and bats it several feet off the ground with his tail. The capsule lands, and Magmortar appears. The Pokeball flies back to the Scarf Pokemon, and he politely reattaches it to the belt.

“Mag mag mag!” Magmortar rushes over, with the same amount of concern registering on his face as Cinccino. This sight causes a tear of my own to form. How on earth did I get so lucky to meet these guys?

“Mag... mortar... Use Fire Blast... toward the sky...”

“Mort?” Magmortar looks at me questioningly, but does what he's told. He aims his cannon skyward, and fires off a massive fireball, which flies hundreds of feet into the air, then explodes.

“Good...” I say, “Keep doing it...”

“Mag!” Magmortar nods, and fires off another blast.

I close my eyes. That's all I can think to do. I hope someone will see that and get the message.

Just in case no one will help, I manage a few more words, “I'm... so glad I met you guys...” I don't think it's half-bad as possible last words go...

In nothing but darkness, no longer trying to think in a specific direction, I allow my thoughts to flow freely.

I don't think I'd ever felt so weak, but strangely, there's a silver lining to this situation: I'm too jaded to feel anything other than fatigue. I'd been attacked by a dark-type yet again, injured even more grievously than five years ago, but right now, I don't have the strength to be scared, so that's a plus.

Still, I know Bisharp wasn't really the one I should be scared of; it was just doing what Ghetsis told it to do, but I'd let myself live in fear of Pokemon for five years; I'm not about to let myself live in fear of some old human. Screw that.

About Ghetsis... I didn't really have the time to think about it until now, but he did say a couple things I found strange:

'Hmhmhm... Now the Dark Stone is mine! With Zekrom out of the picture, my victory is assured.'

'Girl, seeing as the Dark Stone is no longer in your protection, you are not a threat to me anymore.'

It sounded like Ghetsis was referring to himself, personally; not Team Plasma as a whole. Maybe I'm just over-analyzing it, but something just feels odd about that. I know the Sages aren't on board with N, so...

Shoot! I can't die yet! Not like this! C'mon, Ria! This isn't over! Just grit your teeth and fight this thing!

At that moment, I hear Cinccino and Magmortar yelling frantically, “Cino cin cinccino!”

“Mortar mag mort mag!”

I then hear a human female voice, “Huh? Ria! What happened to you? Hang in there, alright? Yanmega, carry her, and keep your body level! Aerodactyl, I can't recall someone else's Pokemon, so could you give Magmortar a ride?” She sounds vaguely familiar, and she did say my name, so it's gotta be someone I know, but who...?

That's the last thought I have before descending into oblivion.

---

Team Plasma headquarters...

The audience chamber of Team Plasma's secret lair is a massive room. The entrance and throne are located at opposite ends of the room, with plenty of space surrounding them, but those areas are separated across a much narrower pathway, about nine feet wide, with pools of clear water to either side of it.

N, draped in a white cloak, sits on a throne, resting his head against his arm. Standing stoically to his sides are his personal attendants and most trusted human friends, Concordia and Anthea. Standing still and silent at a far corner at the very back of the room, like a statue, is Reshiram.

Ghetsis enters the room, and respectfully kneels before his king, “My lord. I have received word of your victory over the Elite Four. My sincerest congratulations.”

“Thank you,” says N, “Tomorrow evening, I shall face the Champion. With Reshiram, my victory is assured. After that, all that's left is to wait for Ria to challenge me, and have our deciding battle.”

“In regards to that,” says Ghetsis, “My king, are you sure your decision is wise? Many people have joined under you, eager for the liberation of all Pokemon. You'll defeat the Champion, so once that is accomplished, it will be well within your power to immediately command the release of all of Unova's Pokemon. Instead, you have led an ordinary Pokemon trainer to finding Zekrom, the one Pokemon that is equal to Reshiram, and desire for her to challenge you. If I may be blunt, Your Majesty, many of your followers are quite disappointed in you.”

Though appearing indifferent, Concordia and Anthea pay close attention to Ghetsis. They have had suspicions about the Sage ever since he asked... or to be more precise, pressured, N into assuming Team Plasma's leadership, despite his very limited social contact with humans and and even more limited experience as a leader. Even after their young master had become king, Ghetsis made most of the ruling decisions anyway.

The two attendants are also very well-aware of Team Plasma's disapproval of N's choice to battle that girl, Ria, and the other Legendary Pokemon, Zekrom, in a battle he has a possibility of losing. All the Sages and most of the grunts are in opposition. Fortunately, N is Reshiram's master, and therefore, the one person who holds the power to fulfill Team Plasma's ultimate objective, so they have no choice but to reluctantly accept.

“I'm not terribly surprised,” says N, “However, the authority of Champion will be mine and mine alone, and it's up to me how I use it.”

“I implore you to reconsider,” says Ghetsis, “What makes you believe this ordinary trainer, 'Ria,' is even capable of awakening Zekrom the same way you've awakened Reshiram?”

N pauses for a few seconds, and answers, “I... I really don't know for sure. She just seems to strongly believe that the world is better off with Pokemon trainers. I'm not sure that's what it takes to awaken Zekrom, exactly, but...”

“Then what if you're wrong? What if Zekrom doesn't appear for her?”

N sighs and admits, “If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. We'll have our battle, and I'll win, simple as that.”

Suppressing a smile, Ghetsis says, “Very well, my king. I hope that battle happens sooner, rather than later. Many of your followers are growing tense and impatient.”

“I'll... take that under consideration,” says N, “Thank you, Sage Ghetsis.”

“You're welcome, Your Highness,” Ghetsis respectfully bows and walks out of the throne room.

With his back turned to his king, Ghetsis smirks. He may not have been able to alter N's foolish decision, but it doesn't matter anymore. With the Dark Stone now in his hands, not that the king will hear it from him, there is no longer anything that can stop Team Plasma.

He had raised N for the specific purpose of awakening Reshiram, but he can't claim to know specifically how the Legendary Pokemon think, so could Zekrom awaken for Ria? Doubtful, but uncertain. He told her she couldn't to cast a doubt in her mind and possibly make her less worthy in the eyes of Zekrom in case he failed to take the Dark Stone from her, but that no longer means anything. He had vastly overestimated Ria's power as a trainer, and had successfully taken the Dark Stone from her, so she is no longer of any consequence.

All that girl can be now is helpful. With luck, she will challenge N anyway... and lose. The sooner that happens, the sooner Team Plasma emerges victorious against Unova's Pokemon trainers. Of course, when they do battle, N will learn that the Dark Stone was stolen, but by then, it will be too late. N's change of heart and foolish actions may have been something of a setback, but now, everything is back on track. Victory is assured. All that needs to be done now is to not let the Dark Stone be found.

When the doors to the chamber slam shut, N's attendants, Concordia and Anthea glance at each other and nod conspiratorially. Something was very odd about this meeting. This isn't the first time their young master and Ghetsis have argued regarding the current issue at hand. Despite the high regard their young master holds for the Sage, N had not changed his mind about his self-appointed task, and Ghetsis had always managed to maintain a stoic reaction to each failed attempt on his part.

This time, however, Ghetsis seemed... oddly content with the results, happy even, even though nothing has changed. They could just be reading into it too much, but still, it's odd and maybe even likely he's hiding something... It might be time to actively confirm their suspicions.

Anthea is the first to speak, “Young master? If you don't mind, could my sister and I be excused as well.”

“Yes,” adds Concordia, “There are duties we must attend to.”

With his gaze focused on the floor, N answers, “Yes, go ahead. Thank you...”

With a respectful bow, Concordia and Anthea leave the audience chamber.

With just him and Reshiram remaining, they are silent for a few minutes until N speaks up, “I keep wondering this, but am I wrong? I'd never known for certain, but is Ria really capable of awakening Zekrom? Ghetsis is right, she is just an ordinary trainer.”

Reshiram speaks up, <Ordinary or special, it does not matter. In this world, there is no such thing as 'chosen ones;' only those who prove themselves worthy.>

“I see,” says N.

Several more minutes pass in silence as N thinks about what just happened. He'd always done what Ghetsis requested of him, but between humans, Ghetsis included, and Pokemon, he always puts Pokemon first, hence the reason he'd never abandoned his self-appointed mission, despite the Sage's objections. He just has to know how Pokemon are meant to be, no matter how many are in opposition to him. Even so, part of him can't help but wonder...

“Just what have I been doing?” N asks, trying to confide in Reshiram, “Up until now, I have never argued with Ghetsis about anything, and now, the rest of Team Plasma is unhappy with me. Should I just I just declare the liberation of all Pokemon after I defeat the Champion tomorrow?”

After a brief silence, Reshiram says, <How you bring about the truth is entirely up to you, young hero, but ask yourself one thing: Is that truly what your heart tells you?>

N shakes his head, “It isn't. It just... It just used to be so simple: Defeat the Champion and free all Pokemon from the clutches of their cruel trainers... or so that's what I had been led to believe about trainers until I saw the outside world. Part of me wishes I'd never left this place, and learned of something completely opposite to what I'd believed. It would have been so much easier, then.”

<You are basing your final decision on the results of a battle between Zekrom and myself. Young hero... which results do you desire?>

“I... I...” Confused, N doesn't know how to respond. After seeing how happy Pokemon are with humans, he really has no problem with the idea of Ria winning, but at the same time, there are too many who desire the contrary for him to just ignore and, more importantly, he'd made promises he'd sworn to keep.

N's hesitation is all Reshiram needs, <The truth is a difficult thing to discover. It pleases me to know that you will accept whichever outcome. Indeed, if my defeat would mean discovering that truth you seek, I accept that.>

“Thank you, Reshiram. It's just that what I want... I don't even know anymore. My friends and Team Plasma... they are counting on me to liberate all Pokemon, and I promised them I would. Now, Team Plasma hates me and I can't even face my friends anymore. I feel like I'm letting everyone down, but after everything I'd done and seen, there's no turning back for me. I'm so confused...” Feeling overwhelmed by the stress of his conflicted feelings, N suppresses a sob. How could something that was so simple become so complicated?

---

The black void I'm in suddenly turns bright red. I squint my eyes open, only to see even brighter white. Against that whiteness, however, there are three silhouettes; oddly, none of them are entirely human. I recognize two of them immediately: Cinccino and Magmortar. The last one is human-shaped... or at least it would be, if not for the wings extending out from its mid-back.

A human-shaped silhouette with wings... I immediately come to a conclusion: is it an angel?

I ask the cliché, but important question, “Where... am I?” I then add, “Am I... dead?”

I second guess the notion of being dead when I realize that means Cinccino and Magmortar are with me, at least until remembering what Alder told me about The Fading. It really exists?

The angel extends her hand down to me, “Rejoice, child. You are now at peace.”

With some effort. I reach up and grab the angel's hand. Instead of being carried someplace, however, I'm pulled upright.

With the light no longer in my eyes, I have a better sense of the situation. I'm on a narrow upholstered cot, covered by a thin white sheet. Around me, there are other cots and various kinds of medical equipment. Definitely not what I'd pictured the afterlife would be like. In fact, as reality manages to catch up with me, I realize it's not the afterlife at all.

I glance down and see that instead of wearing torn, bloody clothes, I'm wearing a pair of loose-fitting light-blue pajamas. I look at the 'angel,' and sure enough, it's not an angel at all! Instead, it's Skyla! She's dressed a little differently than last time, but that magenta hair is unmistakable. The wings were just her Swanna behind her.

The Gym Leader starts chuckling, “Hahaha! I sure had you fooled for a second, didn't I?”

With my sarcasm in working order, at least, I say, “Ha-ha. Real funny, Skyla. What are you doing here? And where am I?”

“You're at the Opelucid Pokemon Center infirmary,” Skyla answers, “I originally came to Opelucid City to pay a surprise visit to our good friend, Cheren...”

I nod intently. I do remember Bianca telling me she ran into Skyla while she was looking for Cheren, and directed her to Opelucid City.

“Anyway, the weather was starting to get bad, so I decided to fly home. I was halfway across the river when I saw your 'distress flares.' I came down and found you. We brought you back here, and the nurses got to work on you. They cleaned, sutured, disinfected, and bandaged that big cut on you, and gave you a few blood transfusions. They say you'll be as good as new with a little food. Your cut was inflicted by a Pokemon attack called False Swipe, where the attacker intentionally avoids hitting a target's vitals, so however bad you felt was due to blood loss alone,” Skyla's eyes bore into me, “By the way, Ria. How did you end up getting attacked anyway? Wild Pokemon looking for food don't go attacking their targets with the non-lethal False Swipe, after all.”

“Let's just say I got on the bad side of some of Team Plasma's fat Delcatties...”

Skyla nods slowly, “Team Plasma, huh? Yeah, they've been a problem. It looks like you really did something to make them mad.”

More than you know, Skyla, I think to myself. Luckily, Skyla doesn't press me on the issue. I really don't want to share the full extent of my involvement with them with too many people.

“Anyway, seeing as I found you, I guess I felt obligated to do some things for you...” Skyla gestures toward a pile of clothes on a nearby table, “Almost all the clothes you were wearing were ruined, due to blood stains, cuts, and bad stuff like that, so I went and bought you some replacement clothes, as close as I could find to what you were wearing: a sleeveless white t-shirt, a pair of jeans, which I already cut the legs off, a black vest, which I already pinned your Gym badges to, a new cap, and I noticed you were missing your supply bag too, so I got you a new one of those, though they weren't carrying any pink ones, like the one I remember you carrying before, so I got you a black one instead. I hope you don't mind.”

“Um... Wow! Thank you, Skyla!”

“You... might wanna hold your thanks,” says Skyla, nervously biting her lip, “You see, I kinda figured you'd buy new clothes anyway, so I went ahead and used the money in your wallet to buy all that...”

I take a moment to consider this. As much as I want to ask Skyla who she thinks she is to assume how to spend my money, she's right; I would have used that cash to buy new clothes, as opposed to walking everywhere in the jammies I'm wearing right now, so I decide to cut her some slack, “Don't worry, it's fine. How much is left?”

“A little,” says Skyla, “I didn't get you any new supplies for your bag, so that's up to you.”

“No problem.”

“Oh, one last thing,” Skyla hands me a new Pokeball belt, which has my Pokeballs attached to it, “The buckle of the one you had before was severed, so I got you a new one.”

“Oh! Thanks!” I take the belt.

“You might wanna recall your Pokemon, and get them fixed up. From the looks of things, they had a busy day.”

“Mag mag!” Magmortar chimes in, looking much more tired than normal, not that I'm surprised. Part of the time he'd spent since I'd sent him out was out in the rain, after all.

“Thank you so much, you guys,” I say to Cinccino and Magmortar, “Return!” I recall the Scarf and Blast Pokemon and reattach their capsules to the belt.

“So... how are you feeling right now?” asks Skyla.

“I dunno. Better than before, I guess.”

“Can you stand?”

“Only one way to find out...” I swing my legs to the side of the bed, plant my feet on the ground, and slowly rise. I feel a tad unsteady, but I'm standing. I try walking, and while that's a little hard too, I'm at least not falling down. I pace around the room, reestablishing a feel for this most basic of human motions.

I glance around the room, finally noticing that there's no window. However, there is a clock, saying it's about 5:30, but seeing as it's an old-fashioned hand-clock, I don't know if it's 5:30AM or 5:30PM.

“How long have I been out?” I ask.

“Almost a whole day,” Skyla answers, “You're quite a heavy sleeper.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, think you can manage from here on?” Skyla asks, “I really gotta get back to my Gym. I kinda overstayed my leave, and the Pokemon League is really gonna have it in for me if I'm away for any longer. Besides, being in this room for too long makes me uncomfortable...”

“I think so,” I say, “Thank you for everything, Skyla.”

“No prob,” says Skyla, “We're friends now, so if you need me for anything, let me know.”

“Will do.”

“Okay. Let's go, Swanna.”

“Swaaa!” Skyla and Swanna leave the room.

I lazily start changing out of my pajamas and into the clothes Skyla got for me. As I get undressed, I notice the layers of bandages wrapped around me, covering the place where Bisharp cut, and have an amusing flashback, about the fact that Braviary, then Rufflet, took pride in the scars he received as a mark of his trials. Nowadays, he goes through the Pokemon Centers' machines, just like everyone else, but I'm sure back then, he would've been proud of me for this injury. I also notice the bruises from my tumble off Braviary, already yellow, green, and purple. I guess I'll consider those scars as well...

I change into my new clothes, fasten the Pokeball belt around my waist, and sling the strap of my new black supply bag, which looks a little more practical for traveling than my old pink one (seeing as that one amassed a bunch of very visible grime throughout the journey), over my shoulder.

My stomach lets out an irritated growl, and I remember Skyla saying that I should get some food and recover my strength. Not a bad idea...

With me not even being conscious when I first entered the Opelucid Pokemon Center, it takes a little work to get oriented. What little I know about Opelucid City is that it's Unova's oldest city, as well as its second-largest, but the interior of this Center doesn't really reflect the 'oldest' part. In fact, if anything, it looks brand-new, with recently-waxed white and blue tiled floors, brightly colored hallway walls, and the like... though it also looks a little boring, like the interior of a hospital, which is kinda fitting, seeing as I came here as a patient.

A wall map shows me the Center has three floors. The infirmary is on the second floor, the lobby, food stands, dining hall, shops, etc. are one the first floor, and the third floor, like the Driftveil Pokemon Center, is made up entirely of the sleeping quarters.

The first thing I do is take a much-needed trip to the little girls' room. After that, as I'm about to take an elevator to the first floor, I notice a white console with a sixteen inch screen. It's a public communicator. Of course, I never needed those things so far, because I already had my Xtransceiver, but now...

A thought occurs to me. Awhile ago, the Professor told me that our Pokedexes transmit a signal which shows where we are in the region. Well, seeing as my 'dex was in my bag when Ghetsis stole it, maybe the Professor might know where Sage Evil took the Zekrock. Heh! Not bad thinking. Score one for Ria!

I put some of my remaining money into a slot on the console, enter the Professor's frequency on a small keyboard, and wait for a response.

After two rings, Professor Juniper's face appears on the screen. I'm expecting her usual cheery greeting, like, 'Hello, howdy, and salutations! How's my favorite student,' but instead she cuts straight to business, “Ria! Where were you? I was checking for where you are in Unova, only to find that your Pokedex's signal flowed down the river from the Tubeline Bridge, and then disappeared! I tried calling you, but all I got was static! I was just wondering how I was going to break that news to your mother!”

“Ah! Er...” I'm stunned by the sudden abruptness. It's nice to see you too, Professor... “About that... That's kinda what I'm calling you about...” I tell the Professor the story of how I was jumped by Ghetsis at the Tubeline Bridge, to my half-dead river adventures, to waking up at the Opelucid Pokemon Center.

The Professor blinks a couple times, “... Well, it sure doesn't sound like you've been bored lately...”

“... Anyway, I was calling to find out where the Pokedex's signal went, and maybe find out where that Sage took the Zekrock, but...”

The Professor shakes her head, “Sorry, Ria. It seems he was smart enough to have considered that possibility...”

“Damn it...” A thought of what Ghetsis said pops into my mind, 'A man of my meticulousness does not leave such matters to chance.' I was hoping that was just blind narcissism talking. Guess not... “Well, is it possible for me to get a new Pokedex, since I now lost my old one?”

The Professor smiles grimly, “Technically yes, but this time, you're paying for it, and it's not cheap.”

“Crap...”

“Sorry, but Professors only give their students one. If you can find it somehow, I'll see what I can do about repairing it, but I'm afraid I can't replace it. They're a very expensive investment for us Professors, but it's worth it to give to new trainers venturing out into the world, possibly discovering new Pokemon... and speaking of discovering new Pokemon, thank you for your picture of that Legendary Pokemon you took outside Iccirus City.”

“Yeah, you're welcome. So, you're saying I'll have to go without one?”

“I'm afraid so.”

“But I've still got a bunch of battles to fight!”

“Then you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way: try various techniques, apply what you've already learned, and figure out your opponents' weaknesses.”

“Great...”

“Don't worry, Ria. You have seven badges, so you clearly have the skill and knowledge to succeed without a Pokedex.”

“Maybe. Thanks, Professor.”

Professor Juniper pauses and says, “Still, it's troubling you lost the... 'Zekrock,' as you call it. However, we'll worry about it when we come to it. Right now, your focus is earning your eighth and final badge and entering the Pokemon League.”

“Yeah.”

The Professor then gives me a sympathetic look, “By the way, are you... okay, Ria?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were injured pretty bad by that Bisharp. Are you holding up okay? Mentally, I mean.”

“I think so,” I answer, “I think I've been doing an alright job getting past that part of my life.”

Professor Juniper smiles warmly, “Your Professor is very proud of you!”

“Heh. Thanks.”

“Oh! One last thing?”

“What is it?”

“Your last Gym is Opelucid Gym, correct?”

“Yup. Alder told me that because it's for my last badge, I'll be battling Drayden instead of Iris.”

“I see,” says the Professor, “Regarding Drayden, I've heard a rumor about him.”

“What's up?”

“I'd heard that recently, he managed to somehow acquire a lesser Legendary Pokemon.”

This gets my full attention. “Say what?” I exclaim louder than I mean to, “I'm gonna be battling a Legendary Pokemon? How the heck am I gonna...?”

“Don't worry too much about it,” says Professor Juniper, “As I said, it's a lesser Legendary, emphasis on 'lesser.' That means only a handful of its kind exist in the world and it might have been celebrated in a legend or two, but in terms of actual fighting power, while still very high, it's surmountable by any Pokemon, provided it's well-trained enough, of course.”

“So... you're saying 'Legendary Pokemon' isn't always synonymous with 'god?'”

“That's exactly what I'm saying. Didn't I go over this in one of my classes?”

“Maybe, I dunno. I might've spaced out. It's not like I was ever expecting to battle a Legendary Pokemon back then...”

The Professor sighs, feigning disappointment, “And here, I though I was teaching a genius all along...”

“Hey, 'genius' is a measurement of intelligence, not knowledge; If I don't know something, I don't know something.”

“I suppose. Anyway, since it's going to be your final Gym battle, it's probable that Drayden will use that Legendary Pokemon, provided the rumors are true. Just be ready for anything.”

“Aren't I always?”

The Professor smiles, “Just be careful, alright?”

“You got it, Professor.”

“Okay. Good luck.” The transmission ends.

---

I head to the ground floor. I hand in my Pokemon to be healed, and then go to get something to eat and hopefully feel alive again.

The passage to the dining hall is lined with food stands, and I end up getting no less than ten different types of food to chow down on for dinner, though it feels more like breakfast, considering I just recently woke up.

The dining hall itself is like a school cafeteria, a lot like the one at the Mistralton Center, though this one is much tidier and modern. Almost a quarter of the room's far wall is taken up by a large TV screen. Looking around, I notice that for the Center in Unova's second-biggest city, there aren't a whole lot of other trainers around; only about fifteen, and of those fifteen trainers, thirty eyes or on the big TV screen.

Looking at the screen, there's a commercial playing, with Elesa advertising some new kind of candy bar, as if eating that stuff would give a person a body like hers. I'd attribute the overwhelming attention to the TV to typical male Grumpig behavior if the female-to-male ratio of the room's inhabitants (myself included) weren't nine-to-seven.

I sit down near the closest fellow trainer, a twenty-something dude with two weeks growth of beard, and ask, “What are you guys watching?”

“A Championship battle,” answers the trainer with a smirk, “Some poor schmuck decided he couldn't wait a few years for the next Championship Tournament, and challenged the Champion right away.”

“Oh, really?” I think I have an idea of who that 'poor schmuck' might be. I have a bad feeling about this...

The commercial ends, and we're shown a birds-eye view of a Pokemon League-worthy stadium, with a battlefield the size of a football field, and thousands of enthusiastic viewers in the stands. I guess that's where a good chunk of Opelucid's population is right now. It looks like it's still raining out, though there's a roof over the stadium, held up by massive marble pillars (come to think of it, a lot of fancy places in Unova have marble pillars. I guess it's an architectural fad). The far end of the arena has a wide view of the sky, which I imagine would have an awesome sunset right now, if not for the rainclouds.

At the bottom part of the screen, the current score of the battle is labeled, 'Champion: 6' and 'Challenger: 2.' It doesn't get much more one-sided than that...

The nearby trainer snickers, “Heh. I thought a guy who beat the entire Elite Four would do better than this.”

The screen cuts to the faces of the two trainers. One is Alder, of course, and the other, as I expected, is N.

The announcer of the battle comments on the facial expressions of N and the Champion. Talk about thorough, “The battle is entering the final stage. So far, it's been nothing but trouble for the challenger, N. However, he looks as calm as ever. As for our Champion, he still looks ready for anything. Clearly, these two are the image of professional trainers. They have been given time to consider their strategy, so let's begin Round Five!”

I notice that both trainers' Pokemon are not in their Pokeballs, instead standing nearby. I guess they're playing by N's rules. The only Pokemon N has standing nearby is his Infernape, while Alder has all six of his; Scizor is on the field, while Accelgor, Lucario, Volcarona, a Druddigon, and a large blue turtle-ish Pokemon are behind him.

N's Infernape takes the field, and the announcer says, “The challenger sent out Infernape, a fire/fighting-type! This Pokemon has a definite type advantage over Scizor. Could this be his chance to score a point in this battle? Let us see!”

The nearby trainer scoffs, “I doubt it.”

The round begins with Infernape rapidly zipping across the battlefield with its right fist reared back (Mach Punch, I think). It throws a punch at Scizor's head, but the bug/steel-type leans to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. Infernape follows it up with its other fist igniting, and throwing a left hook, which Scizor ducks under.

The Pincer Pokemon then goes on the offensive. It quickly rises with one of its claws glowing reddish brown, and it hammers it against the side of Infernape's head, sending it flying and crashing into the foot of the stands.

“An impressive counterattack by Scizor with Brick Break!”

Infernape slowly tries to recover, but Scizor's claws then glow silver, and it zooms across the battlefield, a lot like Infernape did in the beginning with Mach Punch, and delivers a furious barrage of punches. With that attack, Infernape collapses.

As N rushes over to recall Infernape into a Pokeball (did I really just see that?), the announcer booms, “With a timely Bullet Punch attack by Scizor, Infernape is down! One more knock-out, and the Champion will be victorious! The challenger will need a miracle to get out of this crisis!”

If N is using the 'trump card' strategy Bianca used against me, I have a feeling we're about to see a 'miracle' in the making...

---

Unova Pokemon League HQ...

N recalls Infernape and retakes his position on the field.

There's some things he wants to tell the Champion, but with the vast distance between them and the din of the crowd, it's impossible, so he just thinks what's on his mind instead.

Well done, Champion. You clearly have conviction and desire to stop me, and your Pokemon clearly share the same sentiments... N pulls the visor of his cap down and smiles … However, convictions mean nothing without the power to back them up... as you will soon see...

The announcer's voice booms, “With Zoroark, Blastoise, Galvantula, Sandslash, and now, Infernape down, the challenger is down to his last Pokemon, but what could it be? Could it be enough to turn the tide of the battle?”

Now, Champion, prepare to face the Pokemon that carries my convictions! N raises his hand, and calls out at the top of his voice, “Reshiram!”

There's a loud sound overhead, and part of the roof caves in, dropping large marble slabs onto the middle of the battlefield. The crowd lets out the sound of collective gasps and screams as Reshiram descends.

“Wh-what's this?” stutters the announcer, “This Pokemon isn't recorded in any of our databanks! This is history in the making! Will this new Pokemon be enough to turn this battle around?”

N looks across the field to see a mix of determination and unease on the faces of the Champion and his Pokemon. Understandable.

“Begin Round Six!”

“Bullet Punch!” yells Alder, “Don't let it make a move!”

“Zor!” Scizor's claws glow with steel-type energy as it rapidly zeroes in on Reshiram.

“Extrasensory,” N calmly commands.

Reshiram counters Scizor with a psychic force, which slows it down greatly. As a steel-type, it would normally have little trouble resisting psychic energy, but in this case, it's forced to its knees and then all fours. It just goes to show how vast their power difference is.

With Scizor completely stunned, Reshiram goes for the finishing blow, opening his mouth and releasing a stream of fire, scoring a direct hit. With a mix of regular and red flames engulfing the bug/steel-type, it faints. Alder rushes over, recalls it, and returns to his place on the field.

Hmph. Child's play for Reshiram. Let see how he performs against a Pokemon that hasn't been worn down from fighting five consecutive battles...

N consciously realizes what he's thinking, as well as the grin on his face. He's... enjoying this? Is this how trainers usually feel when they're having an exciting battle? It's... really not a bad feeling...

Realizing where him mind is headed, he shakes his head. No! No! No! I can't forget my promises, those who are counting on me! I will stick to the plan and battle Ria!

One after another, Alder's Pokemon are easily defeated by Reshiram. Druddigon, Carracosta, Lucario, Accelgor, and finally, Volcarona.

The the battle over, the crowd shouts out with a mix of cheers and boos as the announcer says, “What unbelievable power! In a complete reversal, the challenger emerges victorious! We have a new Champion!”

As the crowd continues it exclamations, N smiles wryly and thinks to himself, So that's it? The crown of Champion is mine now... I suppose it's time, then...

As a reporter and her cameraman rush out onto the field, no doubt to interview Unova's new hero, N raises his arms and yells, “Arise!”

Suddenly, the ground begins to rumble, and whatever noises the viewers were making all become collective screams.

Rocks and dirt are thrown up from the ground below and beyond the arena, as something resembling a building, a narrow highrise to be exact, bursts out from under the surface, followed by more of the same, adjacent to either side of it, and even more adjacent to those until the buildings are surrounding half of the Pokemon League HQ's area, effectively blocking the view of the sky.

Hatches on the buildings slide open, and bridges shoot out of them and into the stadium. Team Plasma grunts parade out of the buildings, some groups headed by Sages.

With a much firmer understanding of the current situation, the people in the stands start to frantically retreat. Some trainers try to fight back, but the sheer number of Team Plasma's Pokemon overwhelms them.

The reporter and cameraman turn to run, but N gestures for Reshiram to fly over them and cut off their escape route.

“Excuse me,” says N to the news crew, “There... there are some words I'd like to say. After that, you can leave.”

“O-o-okay...” stutters the reporter. She glances back at the cameraman, “Record this!”

The cameraman aims his camera at N and begins recording. Not exactly a people person, N says, his voice a little faster than he intends and his eyes angled slightly away from the lens, “People of Unova... my name is N, your new Champion. However, there is another title I go by: the king of Team Plasma, and as of right now, Team Plasma controls Unova's Pokemon League. As I'm sure most of you are aware, our mission is to liberate all Pokemon, and it's now within the power vested in me as Champion to do just that. However, there will be one chance for Pokemon and humans to remain united. As of right now, I will only accept one challenger: the hero of ideals, aided by the Legendary Pokemon, Zekrom. You have until midnight, one week from today, to come and battle me. If you don't appear by then, I will command all trainers to release their Pokemon...” N gestures toward the colossal building that appeared, “I shall await your challenge in the innermost sanctum of the castle of Team Plasma.”

---

Driftveil Pokemon Center...

In the lobby, alongside a handful of other trainers, Bianca watched N's victory over Alder and his declaration to Unova.

So that's N and Reshiram? They defeated the Champion like he was nothing. If not for that Legendary Pokemon, Ria could easily defeat him, but... Oh, I hope Zekrom awakens!

---

Iccirus Pokemon Center...

In a dorm room reserved for trainers, Cheren watched the battle between Alder and N on an old TV set.

So it's happened. Reshiram has awakened for N and he defeated the Champion, just like he said he would. Hm... He sure acted more like a trainer than he did in Accumula Town, so it's entirely believable that maybe he'd learned to see things from our point-of-view, but why isn't he stopping?

It doesn't matter. All that matters now is defeating him.

---

The dining hall is buzzing with voices frantically discussing what just happened.

“Team Plasma's in charge of the Pokemon League? How could this happen?”

“Was that white thing a Legendary Pokemon? Why would he have one?”

“Oh man, we're so screwed!”

“Who is this 'hero of ideals' guy?”

“What's Zekrom? Is it a Legendary Pokemon too?”

The shouting goes on and on with no one remotely aware that the 'hero of ideals' is me. Still, N was talking like he didn't know Ghetsis took the Zekrock from me... Of course not. If he did know, N might have actually tried to get it back to me.

Now that I've actually seen Reshiram fight, my heart sinks hard. It was too strong, even for Alder. Heck, he barely put a dent in the thing! Zekrom has never felt so important... and I don't have it anymore...

One of the things Ghetsis said plays through my head as if he's whispering in my ear, 'Zekrom is a top-class Legendary Pokemon... and you think you're worthy of him? Don't make me laugh.'

Despite my lack of energy, I just don't have an appetite anymore. Why is Ghetsis getting to me like this? He's a liar, and I should just disbelieve anything he says... but what if he's not?

A terrible feeling comes over me... Is it hopelessness?

What should I do? What can I do?

FINAL TEAM UPDATE:


Whew. Finally!
Yeah, sorry about the mega-delay. I originally had this installment mostly written out much sooner, but I was extremely unsatisfied with it, so with some new ideas popping up, I made a lot of edits, practically rewriting the whole thing.
Anyway, I hope this was worth the forty-one day wait. Ghetsis formally makes his appearance as the bad guy, so I hope I pulled him off alright.
Anyway, all the installments from here on out are going to be on the lengthy side, but I hope I don't take as long with those as I did with this...
Also, 41 pages until we hit 600.

Last edited by Valin on Wed Mar 07, 2012 12:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Well damn! So much happened in this chapter I don't even know where to begin! I think it will be easiest to start from the beginning.

The scene with Skyla and Cheren was was very nice and well played. It fit with the story thus far and moved the plot along while providing some development to the budding romance between the two.

Then when the POV switched to Ria we're treated to that huge WHAM moment between her and Ghetsis. I was not expecting that to happen at all! While the attack came out of nowhere and was very fast paced, you pulled it off spectacularly Valin and kept me on the edge of my seat for the rest of the chapter. Since Ria is the main character, I kept thinking how you would get her out alive. If this fic wasn't loosely based on the game, I would have instead been wondering if she'd get out alive.

I thought having N already defeat the Elite Four and Champion was too soon with respect to where Ria currently is, but again, you wrote the scenario well enough with the one week notice that it worked with everything that has already happened. After Ghetsis stealing the Black Stone I'm at the point where I'll just accept anything that happens unless it feels like an ass pull.

Overall, I loved this chapter and thought it was magnificently done. I'm excited to see what Drayden's Pseudo-legendary Dragon is, though I have a few guesses, and I can't wait to find out how Ria reclaims the 'Zekrock'.

Well damn! So much happened in this chapter I don't even know where to begin! I think it will be easiest to start from the beginning.

The scene with Skyla and Cheren was was very nice and well played. It fit with the story thus far and moved the plot along while providing some development to the budding romance between the two.

Then when the POV switched to Ria we're treated to that huge WHAM moment between her and Ghetsis. I was not expecting that to happen at all! While the attack came out of nowhere and was very fast paced, you pulled it off spectacularly Valin and kept me on the edge of my seat for the rest of the chapter. Since Ria is the main character, I kept thinking how you would get her out alive. If this fic wasn't loosely based on the game, I would have instead been wondering if she'd get out alive.

I thought having N already defeat the Elite Four and Champion was too soon with respect to where Ria currently is, but again, you wrote the scenario well enough with the one week notice that it worked with everything that has already happened. After Ghetsis stealing the Black Stone I'm at the point where I'll just accept anything that happens unless it feels like an ass pull.

Overall, I loved this chapter and thought it was magnificently done. I'm excited to see what Drayden's Pseudo-legendary Dragon is, though I have a few guesses, and I can't wait to find out how Ria reclaims the 'Zekrock'.

Thanks Monkey, you've said everything I wanted to say. =/
Um, nice Trainer Cards though.
Can't wait for the next installment, this one was well worth it.